Branded

NEW YORK — New cardiovascular health guidelines released this week could dampen the potential popularity of an up-and-coming class of cholesterol drugs, according to published reports.

NEW YORK — The value of drugs approved in the United States this year could reach almost $19 billion in sales five years after their launch, exceeding the value of drugs approved in 2012, according to a new report.

LONDON — The Food and Drug Administration has given orphan drug designation to an experimental treatment for a rare form of epilepsy.

GW Pharmaceuticals said Friday that the FDA had granted the designation to Epidiolex for Dravet syndrome, a severe, drug-resistant form of epilepsy that begins in infancy. The drug is an oral liquid of a highly purified extract of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive molecule derived from the cannabis plant.

PHOENIX — Drug makers Johnson & Johnson and Pharmacyclics have added Avella Specialty Pharmacy to their limited-distribution network for a newly approved blood cancer drug.

Avella said Thursday that it had joined the limited-distribution network for Imbruvica (ibrutinib), which the Food and Drug Administration approved this week for mantle cell lymphoma. Avella is one of five specialty pharmacies to join the network, the company said.

NEW YORK — New legislation signed into law Wednesday encourages states to adopt laws allowing schools to maintain a supply of emergency treatments for life-threatening allergy attacks.

Barack Obama signed the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, under which schools could maintain a supply of epinephrine, which is the only first-line treatment for life-threatening allergic reactions, also known as anaphylaxis.

The legislation received praise from Mylan, a drug maker that produces EpiPen, a popular epinephrine injector pen.

FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat has joined the limited distribution network for a rare form of blood cancer drug marketed by Johnson & Johnson and Pharmacyclics.

The specialty pharmacy said Thursday that J&J subsidiary Janssen Biotech and Pharmacyclics had added it to the limited distribution network for Imbruvica (ibrutinib), which the Food and Drug Administration approved this week for mantle cell lymphoma.

WASHINGTON — As cold and flu season kicks into high gear, the Acetaminophen Awareness Coalition on Tuesday issued a nationwide safety message urging consumers to double-check their medicine labels so they don’t double-up on medicines that contain acetaminophen when treating winter illnesses. 

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for treating a rare and aggressive type of blood cancer, the agency said Wednesday.

The FDA announced the approval of Imbruvica (ibrutinib), marketed by Pharmacyclics and Johnson & Johnson, for treating mantle cell lymphoma, or MCL. MCL is a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and represents about 6% of all non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases in the United States. Millennium Pharmaceuticals' Velcade (bortezomib) and Celgene's Revlimid (lenalidomide) are also approved for treating MCL.