Specialty Pharmacy

NEW YORK — Pfizer is seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its investigational treatment of moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis.

The company said the FDA accepted a new drug application for tofacitinib for review. The agency also has provided an anticipated Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date of August 2012. Tofacitinib, which is a novel, oral JAK inhibitor, currently is under review by the European Medicines Agency.

PHOENIX — Specialty pharmacy provider The Apothecary Shops is encouraging medication adherence with a cap for pill containers that cues patients with lights and sounds, the company said.

NEW YORK — What new prescription and OTC drugs are top of mind among retail pharmacists? How often do pharmacists REALLY recommend private label?

WASHINGTON — One-in-eight Americans didn't fill prescriptions last year because they couldn't afford to, but despite difficulties with the economy, that proportion remained level, according to a new study conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — US Bioservices, the specialty pharmacy of AmerisourceBergen, on Monday announced that it had received the Specialty Pharmacy Accreditation from URAC, a Washington-based healthcare accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the healthcare industry.

PITMAN, N.J. — According to an article in the November/December issue of the journal Medical-Surgical Nursing, rates of HIV/AIDS, herpes, syphilis, human papilloma virus and other STDs are climbing steadily across men and women older than 50 years. 

SAM MATEO, Calif. — A Food and Drug Administration expert panel will review a drug made by NeurogesX as a potential treatment for pain associated with HIV.

NeurogesX said Thursday that the FDA Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee would meet on Feb. 9, 2012, to review the patch drug Qutenza (capsaicin) as a treatment for pain associated with HIV-associated peripheral neuropathy, or HIV-PN.

The drug currently is approved for treating pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia.

FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy has hired Craig Stephens as group VP business development and trade relations, the company said Wednesday.