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NEW YORK — Four drug industry trade groups are suing the board of health in King County, Wash., over a local health ordinance that they say shifts the burden of sustainable disposal of unwanted drugs onto drug companies, according to published reports.

PETALUMA, Calif. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new topical drug for treating scars made by Oculus Innovative Sciences, the drug maker said Wednesday.

The FDA has approved Microcyn scar-management hydrogel, used to treat scars resulting from burns, surgery and trauma wounds. Oculus and a partnering company, Quinnova Pharmaceuticals, intend to start selling the drug in the first half of next year.

NEW YORK — Crossix Solutions on Tuesday introduced its latest analytics innovation, Crossix POC Impact, which enables marketers to go beyond prescriber data and capture patient impact for a true representation of campaign effectiveness for the point-of-care marketing channel.

BURLINGTON, Mass. — The availability of new generic drugs for treating HIV will erode sales of HIV antiretroviral drugs into the next decade in developed countries, according to a new report.

Healthcare market research firm Decision Resources released the report Wednesday, showing that sales of antiretroviral drugs in the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Japan would be $13.1 billion in 2022, down from 2012's $13.4 billion.

WASHINGTON — Elderly and disabled people nationwide have saved almost $9 billion on prescription drugs thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a new study by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

HAYWARD, Calif. — Impax Labs has settled a patent-infringement suit filed by Purdue Pharma concerning the opioid painkiller OxyContin, Impax said Tuesday.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid has appointed healthcare executive Myrtle Potter to its board of directors, the retail pharmacy chain said Tuesday.

Potter is currently CEO of Myrtle Potter & Co., a Silicon Valley-based consulting firm focused on life sciences and health care, as well as the head of consumer healthcare content company Myrtle Potter Media. She previous served as president of commercial operations and COO at Genentech and has worked at companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck.

NEW YORK — Forest Labs is spending at least $240 million to buy rights to a psychiatric drug made by Merck, the New York-based drug maker said.

Forest said it would buy the U.S. rights for Merck's Saphris (asenapine), a tablet dissolved under the tongue for the treatment of schizophrenia and manic episodes in patients with bipolar disorder. Forest will pay Merck $240 million upfront, as well as milestone payments based on sales, while Merck will supply the drug. Forest will market the drug and conduct clinical studies.