News

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) recently filed a class action suit in federal court against Gilead Sciences, Inc. over the high cost of its hepatitis C drug, Sovaldi.

FDA approved ceftolozane/tazobactam (Zerbaxa, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) for the treatment of adults with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) and complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) caused by designated susceptible Gram-negative bacteria.

More than half of all Medicaid beneficiaries nationwide were enrolled in a managed care organization as of September 2014, according to a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Fund.

FDA has approved finafloxacin (Xtoro, Alcon) otic suspension for the treatment of otitis externa.

FDA has approved olaparib (Lynparza, AstraZeneca) for the treatment of women with advanced ovarian cancer associated with defective BRCA genes, as determined by an FDA-approved test.

FDA has allowed marketing of the EnLite Neonatal TREC kit (PerkinElmer), the first newborn screening test for detection of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID).

FDA has approved ombitasvir, paritaprevir and ritonavir tablets co-packaged with dasabuvir tablets (Viekira Pak, AbbVie) to treat patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection, including those with a type of advanced liver disease called cirrhosis.

The ACA has had a significant impact on uninsurance rates for racial and ethnic minorities, according to a new study by the Urban Institute.

In a shift from fee-for-service to value-based care, UnitedHealthcare has launched a pilot bundled payment model with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for head and neck cancers.

Hospitals with high rates of certain hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) will have their Medicare payments cut by 1% for the 2015 fiscal year.

FDA has approved lanreotide (Somatuline Depot, Ipsen) Injection, 120 mg (referred to as Somatuline) for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable, well- or moderately-differentiated, locally advanced or metastatic gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).

The FDA has granted breakthrough therapy designation for Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech) for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.

FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) reports that it has approved 35 novel new drugs in 2014. These 35 drugs include new molecular entities (NMEs) submitted to CDER in new drug applications (NDAs) and new therapeutic biologics submitted in biologics license applications (BLAs).

FDA has cleared a new screening test for the prediction of future coronary heart disease (CHD) events, such as myocardial infarction. It is cleared for use in all adults who have no history of CHD.

FDA has granted the first-ever CLIA waiver for the Syphilis Health Check test, a rapid screening test for syphilis.

The number of states deciding to pursue some form of Medicaid expansion continues to grow, with Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Tennessee and Wyoming moving forward or indicating intent to pursue an alternative plan.

Customers at 7-11 stores who use a bill-paying system will receive information promoting the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period on their printed receipts, allowing HHS to reach financially underserved consumers.

A price increase for a popular form of the medication, naloxone, threatens the ability of non-profit programs and organizations, including police departments around the country, to provide a medical antidote for drug overdoses.

Medicare Advantage (MA) members in Humana’s accountable care programs in 2013 had 7% fewer emergency room visits and 4% fewer inpatient hospital admissions than members in traditional, fee-for-service settings.

Almost 2.5 million consumers signed up for health insurance through December 15 as part of open enrollment, and 48% were new consumers.

FDA has approved Cyramza (ramucirumab, Eli Lilly) in combination with docetaxel to treat aggressive non-small cell lung cancer.

A new vaccine, human papillomavirus (HPV) 9-valent vaccine, recombinant (Gardasil 9, Merck Sharp & Dohme), has been approved by FDA for the prevention of diseases caused by 9 HPV types. It is effective against 5 additional strains of the virus than is the previous FDA-approved version of the vaccine (Gardasil).

Data from the largest clinical trial of myelofibrosis patients treated with ruxolitinib (Jakavi, Novartis) support its safety profile and efficacy benefit, as measured in primary and secondary end points, according to a study presented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in San Francisco.

MP Diagnostics HTLV Blot 2.4 (MP Biomedicals) has been approved by FDA as the first FDA-licensed supplemental test for human T-cell lymphotropic virus-I/II (HTLV-I/II). It is a qualitative enzyme immunoassay test, which is to be used to confirm the presence of HTLV antibodies as well as to differentiate between HTLV-I and HTLV-II infection.

On the 1-year anniversary of the first G8 summit on dementia, new funding has been announced for a study to research the use of tadalafil (Adcirca, Cialis; Eli Lilly), an erectile dysfunction drug, for the treatment of vascular dementia.

Providers and care teams working to improve the health of overweight and obese patients must keep hypertension detection and management top of mind for this population.

Formulary managers should be alert to the use of opioid painkillers by special populations, such as people with epilepsy, according to findings during a poster session at the American Epilepsy Society annual meeting in Seattle.

Including more nurse practitioners in a greater number of health plans can improve the experiences of patients as well as the bottom line.

Looking to capitalize on California’s decision to expand Medicaid, Blue Shield of California has purchased Care 1st of Monterey Park, which will add 473,000 Medicaid managed-care members to its rolls.

Dr OvbiageleFor recent ischemic stroke patients, using an optimal combination of evidence-based secondary prevention medication classes, compared to not doing so, was associated with 61% lower odds of experiencing a recurrent stroke, according to a study published online in Neurology.