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Specialty Pharmacy

  • AstraZeneca buys Spirogen for up to $440 million

    LONDON — AstraZeneca has acquired a British developer of biotech drugs for treating cancer, AstraZeneca said Tuesday.

    The company said its MedImmune subsidiary had acquired privately held Spirogen and also entered into a collaboration with ADC Therapeutics to develop two of ADC's antibody-drug conjugate programs, currently in pre-clinical development. MedImmune will make an equity investment in ADC, which has an existing licensing agreement with Spirogen.

  • Diplomat receives ASHP accreditation for post-graduate residency program

    FLINT, Mich. — The American Society of Health System Pharmacists has granted accreditation to a post-graduate program offered by specialty pharmacy Diplomat, the company said.

    Diplomat, which recently shortened its name from Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, received ASHP accreditation for its postgraduate year one, or PGY1 pharmacy residency program.

  • Increased drug utilization can decrease Medicare spending, NASP speaker says

    SAN ANTONIO — An increase of 1% in prescribed drug use decreases Medicare spending on other medical services by 5%, according to statements made Tuesday at a specialty pharmacy conference by a former chief of staff for the Obama administration.

  • Calif. bill to restrict biosimilars gets governor's veto

    NEW YORK — The governor of California has vetoed a bill that critics said would have limited patients' access to knock-off versions of biotech drugs.

  • FDA approves easy-to-use injectable methotrexate for RA, psoriasis, juvenile arthritis

    EWING, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug made by Antares Pharma for treating rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, the drug maker said Monday.

  • Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy rebrands, shortens name

    FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy is now Diplomat, the company said Monday in announcing a change to its name and branding strategy.

    Calling it a "new and more human brand," the company said it had grown to include more than pharmacists, nurses and care coordinators and now includes software developers, researchers and business strategists.

  • Fewer than one-quarter of Medicare beneficiaries compared drug costs in 2013, missing $600 in savings

    MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — More than three-quarters of Medicare beneficiaries don't compare drug prices when shopping for their health plans, according to a new study.

    The study, conducted by eHealth, found that 78% of respondents don't compare prices, but that the average beneficiary could have saved more than $600 this year on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs if he had. The study was based on an analysis of more than 450,000 unique visitor sessions during Medicare's 2013 Annual Enrollment Period.

  • Pharmacy-accreditation group to develop program for specialty

    WASHINGTON — The Center for Pharmacy Practice Accreditation is developing an accreditation program for specialty pharmacy practices, the group said.

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