Specialty Pharmacy

NEW YORK — Schnuck Markets is expanding its presence in specialty pharmacy services, according to published reports.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Schnucks opened its first Schnucks Infusion Solutions location last month in St. Louis, where the supermarket chain is based.

MALVERN, Pa. — Endo Health Solutions will acquire Canadian drug maker Paladin Labs for $1.6 billion, mostly in shares of stock, Endo said Tuesday.

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new injectable painkiller made by Becton, Dickinson and Co., the medical products manufacturer said Monday.

BD announced the FDA approval of morphine sulfate injection as part of its BD Simplist line of ready-to-administer pre-filled injectables. The drug was approved in the 2-mg-per-mL, 4-mg-per-mL, 5-mg-per-mL, 8-mg-per-mL and 10-mg-per-mL strengths.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has asked Ariad Pharmaceuticals to suspend marketing and sales of a chemotherapy drug for leukemia due to the risk of life-threatening side effects, the agency said.

JERUSALEM — Teva Pharmaceutical Industries had $5.1 billion in sales and $711 million in profits in third-quarter 2013, the Israeli drug maker said.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for leukemia made by Genentech, the agency said Friday.

The FDA announced the approval of Gazyva (obinutuzumab) for treating patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia, in combination with the chemotherapy drug chlorambucil. The drug works by helping certain cells in the immune system attack cancer cells.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration is using long-term strategies to address drug shortages when they appear and requiring manufacturers to notify the agency if a shortage is at risk of happening, under a new plan announced Thursday.

SILVER SPRINGS, Md. — Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug for treating cystic fibrosis for patients who have a specific genetic mutation, but that also treats the underlying cause of the disease rather than the disease itself.