Regulatory and Washington

WASHINGTON — The recent breach of customer data at Target has attracted the attention of two U.S. senators.

NEW YORK — An educational program partially conceived by a group focused on lupus research is expected to receive $2 million through a congressional appropriations bill.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Healthcare Products Association on Friday pledged its support behind the introduction of legislation by Rep. Paul Harris, R-Wash., that would prohibit pharmacies or retail distributors from selling over-the-counter cough medicines containing dextromethorphan to those younger than 18 years without a prescription. CHPA says the bill, H.B. 2163, is a step toward preventing teen abuse of the medicines containing DXM. 

GURGAON, India — The Food and Drug Administration has found possible violations of agency regulations at a manufacturing plant in India owned by drug maker Ranbaxy Labs, the company said Monday.

Ranbaxy said it received a Form 483 from the FDA, a statement issued to a company's management after it has inspected a plant and found conditions that may violate the agency's regulations, and that products produced therein could be hazardous to people who use them. The plant in question is in Toansa, in India's Punjab region.

NEW YORK — Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan has signed into law a bill that will allow medical marijuana to be sold in pharmacies if the federal government legalizes it for that purpose, according to published reports.

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — A drug maker has started a program to find the genetic determinants of human disease and speed the discovery and development of new drugs. The program includes a five-year project that it said would be one of the largest of its kind in terms of the number of patients involved.

NEW YORK — New York state has begun to legalize medical use of marijuana, albeit in limited form, according to published reports.

Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia allow the dispensing of marijuana for medical use, two of which — Colorado and Washington — have legalized recreational use, while Maryland allows medical use as a legal defense in criminal cases.

ATLANTA — According to this week's FluView report, overall flu activity continued to be high across the nation, with activity continuing to spread from state to state, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. Thirty-five states are now experiencing widespread activity, and 20 states are reporting high levels of influenza-like illness.