Specialty Pharmacy

NEW YORK — Anthem Blue Cross will indefinitely suspend a policy that would require many specialty pharmacy patients in California, most of them HIV patients, to receive their drugs via mail order in order to receive coverage for them, drawing criticism from patients and retail pharmacies.

LONDON — The Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review to an experimental drug made by ViiV Healthcare for HIV, the company, a joint venture between British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline and American drug maker Pfizer, announced.

The FDA gave the designation to dolutegravir, designed for use in combination with other antiretrovirual drugs in adults and adolescents. The agency gives priority review to drugs that offer significant improvement compared with products already on the market.

NEW YORK — A new bill in Florida's state legislature would allow pharmacists to substitute biosimilars for branded biotech drugs, according to published reports.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that the Health Quality Subcommittee of the Florida House of Representatives approved a bill that would allow for substitution while requiring pharmacists to notify prescribing physicians within five days and require the doctor and pharmacist to maintain a record for at least four years.

WASHINGTON — Two Democrats from West Virginia are sponsoring legislation in the House and Senate to combat prescription drug abuse.

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has granted special designation to a drug made by Eisai for treating thyroid cancer.

The drug maker said Thursday that its experimental drug E7080 (lenvatinib) had received orphan drug designation from the FDA for follicular, medullary, anapestic and metastatic or locally advanced papillary thyroid cancer.

DUBLIN, Ohio — Cardinal Health on Thursday announced plans to acquire privately held AssuraMed, a provider of medical supplies to patients in the home, for $2.1 billion. 

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Actavis and Mallinckrodt have reached a settlement concerning the former's generic version of an opioid painkiller made by the latter, Actavis said Thursday.

The companies settled patent lawsuit regarding Actavis' generic version of Mallinckrodt's Exalgo (hydromorphone hydrochloride) extended-release tablets in the 32-mg strength. The companies settled litigation regarding the 8-mg, 12-mg and 16-mg strengths last month.

WASHINGTON — More than seven dozen members of the House of Representatives are urging the U.S. Postal Service to continue delivering medications to all Americans six days a week.