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ATLANTA — Evidence-based interventions at the local and national levels provide promising strategies for reducing racial and ethnic health disparities related to HIV infection rates, immunization coverage, motor vehicle injuries and deaths, and smoking, according to a new report by the CDC's Office of Minority Health and Health Equity released Thursday.

DUBLIN — Actavis on Friday announced that it has entered into agreements with Akorn and Hi-Tech Pharmacal to purchase four currently marketed products and one product under development for cash consideration. The closing of the purchase agreements are contingent upon the consummation of Akorn's acquisition of Hi-Tech. Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

ATLANTA — Rates of five major diabetes-related complications have declined substantially in the last 20 years among U.S. adults with diabetes, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

BALTIMORE — Cases of diabetes and pre-diabetes in the United States have nearly doubled since 1988, suggests new research released Tuesday from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with obesity apparently to blame for the surge. The researchers also found that the burden of the disease has not hit all groups equally, with alarming increases in diabetes in blacks, Hispanics and the elderly.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Total spending on U.S. medicines increased 1% on a real per capita basis in 2013, while the use of healthcare services overall rose for the first time in three years, according to a new report issued today by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. — Merck announced that the Food and Drug Administration has approved Grastek (Timothy grass pollen allergen extract) tablet for sublingual use. The drug is an allergen extract used for the treatment of grass pollen-induced allergic rhinitis with or without conjunctivitis. It is approved for use in persons ages 5 years through 65 years of age.

WASHINGTON — Ian Read, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, Inc, was elected chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Friday at the trade association’s annual meeting. Also elected were Kenneth Frazier, chairman, president and CEO of Merck, as chairman-elect of the PhRMA board of directors, and George Scangos, CEO of Biogen Idec, as board treasurer.

Read succeeds Robert Hugin, chairman and CEO of Celgene Corp., as PhRMA’s chairman.

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. — Now available online, the Drug Enforcement Administration National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day collection site locator allows consumers to search for a nearby location to dispose of unneeded medications on Saturday, April 26, 2014, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy announced Wednesday. On April 26, from 10 a.m.