Branded

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for a genetic disorder that affects about 500 people in the United States and 3,000 worldwide, the agency said Tuesday.

NEW YORK — A proposal by Canadian drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International to purchase generic drug maker Actavis has fallen through, according to published reports.

According to reports, Valeant was planning to pay more than $13 billion in stock to acquire Actavis, but the deal was put on hold because the companies could not agree to terms of the deal. The deal would create a company worth about $35 billion.

WASHINGTON — More than 1.3 million emergency room visits in 2010 were related to abuse of prescription drugs, and the problem has become widespread enough that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies it as an epidemic. In response, curbing abuse of prescription drugs has become a cornerstone of the Obama administration's drug policy.

ST. LOUIS — Medical products manufacturer Covidien's pharmaceutical division is expanding an initiative to collect unused and unwanted medications.

Mallinckrodt said it would expand communities' access to drug take-back collection boxes and promote safe disposal practices, installing lock boxes in three police stations around St. Louis. The company said it purchased the boxes under a collaboration with the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators and also would provide a grant to help incinerate the medications that are collected.

WASHINGTON — More than 200 drugs for blood cancers are under development, according to a new report by a drug industry trade group.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America said 241 medicines were in clinical development or under review by the Food and Drug Administration, including 98 for lymphoma, 97 for leukemia, 52 for multiple myeloma and 24 for malignancies of the bone marrow, blood and lymph nodes.

WASHINGTON — The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health heard testimony on Thursday morning from representatives of the Food and Drug Administration and several industry trade groups following the introduction of draft legislation that sponsors said would strengthen the country's pharmaceutical supply chain.

PARSAPPANY, N.J. — Actavis can launch a generic version of an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug made by Shire next year under an agreement between the two companies announced Thursday.

PEAPACK, N.J. — Greenstone has launched an authorized generic painkiller, the company said.

Greenstone, the generics arm of Pfizer, announced the introduction of authorized generic oxaprozin caplets in the 600 mg strength. The drug is a version of Pfizer's Daypro, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID.

Authorized generics are branded drugs sold under their generic names at a reduced price.