Regulatory and Washington

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Colonial Life and Accident Insurance last week released its top five trends and predictions for health care in 2012 — three of which may have some direct impact on retail pharmacy.

WASHINGTON — Dietary supplement usage is up among Americans, according to a National Center for Health Statistics report released earlier this year — half of all U.S. adults supplement their diets, most likely with a multivitamin. And pharmacists are the No. 2 go-to source (behind doctors) for information around those supplements — according to a Council for Responsible Nutrition Survey on Dietary Supplements.

As a pharmacist, are you prepared to answer their questions?

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Watson Pharmaceuticals has launched its generic version of an opioid drug for treating pain, the company said Thursday.

Watson announced the Food and Drug Administration approval and launch of morphine sulfate extended-release capsules.

The drug is a generic version of Actavis' Kadian, which had sales of about $275 million during the 12-month period ended in September, according to IMS Health.

ATLANTA — Most American adults who smoke wish they could quit, and more than half have tried within the past year, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Thursday.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Watson Pharmaceuticals is challenging three of Swiss drug maker Novartis' patents on a drug used to treat dementia, Watson said.

The company said subsidiary Watson Labs had filed for approval generic rivastigmine transdermal system patches in the 4.6-mg and 9.5-mg strengths, both designed to last for 24 hours, with the Food and Drug Administration. The patches are used to treat mild to moderate dementia associated with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Legislation that would level the playing field for brick-and-mortar retailers, including pharmacies, by closing a loophole that puts them at a disadvantage with online retailers has received praise from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wy., is the sponsor of the Marketplace Fairness Act and serves as the ranking Republican member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — An appeals court has thrown out an attempt by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to stop Watson Pharmaceuticals from selling a generic contraceptive, Watson said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court's June 16 decision to deny Duramed Pharmaceuticals' request for an injunction that would stop Watson from selling a generic version of Seasonique (levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol [0.15 mg/0.03 mg] and ethinyl estradiol [0.01 mg]). Duramed originally was a subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals, which Teva acquired in 2008.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., last week introduced a bill — the Dietary Supplement Protection Act of 2011 — that would reclassify approximately 25,000 supplements launched between Oct. 15, 1994, and Jan. 1, 2007, as "grandfathered" supplements and not subject to proposed new dietary ingredient regulations.