Specialty Pharmacy

FRAZER, Pa. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy for two painkillers made by Cephalon, the drug maker said Thursday.

The FDA approved a REMS for Fentora (fentanyl) buccal tablets and Actiq (oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate). Both drugs are used for managing breakthrough pain in cancer patients who have become tolerant of opioid drugs.

STAMFORD, Conn. — Purdue Pharma has launched a new website designed to combat abuse of prescription drugs, the company said Wednesday.

The website, RxSafetyMatters.org, is designed to help healthcare professionals, police and community organizations combat prescription drug diversion and abuse. Purdue is the developer of OxyContin (oxycodone), an extended-release painkiller that is frequently a target of drug abusers.

NEW YORK — Patients taking an investigative antidepressant undergoing late-stage clinical development showed “significant” improvement, according to study results released Monday.

Forest Labs and Pierre Fabre Medicament announced results of a phase-3 trial of levomilnacipran in adults with major depressive disorder. Results showed a statistically significant improvement in patients treated with the drug, compared with those taking placebo.

BRISTOL, Tenn. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug made by Graceway Pharmaceuticals for actinic keratoses, Graceway said.

The agency approved Zyclara (imiquimod) cream in the 2.5% strength for AK, a precancerous lesion that affects about 10 million Americans and can develop into skin cancer later on.

SYDNEY — Australian drug maker QRxPharma is seeking approval for a drug that combines two painkillers in one pill, the company said Monday.

QRxPharma announced that it had filed a regulatory approval application with the Food and Drug Administration for MoxDuo IR (morphine and oxycodone). The drug is designed to release both drugs into the body immediately.

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — Upsher-Smith Labs has started a late-stage clinical trial of a drug for treating patients with a rare and severe form of epilepsy, the drug maker said Monday.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens is recognizing medication adherence rates as high as 96% through its hepatitis C therapy management programs across its specialty pharmacy, the pharmacy operator announced Monday.

INDIANAPOLIS — A statin made by Eli Lilly and Kowa Pharmaceuticals America appears to work well with drugs used to treat HIV, according to a study presented at the sixth International AIDS Society conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Rome.

The study was designed to investigate potential interactions between Livalo (pitavastatin) and Abbott’s antiretroviral protease inhibitor Kaletra (lopinavir and ritonavir). The study found that each drug had only a minimal effect on the other.