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ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported a slight drop in influenza-like illnesses across the country, but even so the season is still going strong. The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness for the week ended Jan. 12 was 4.6%, above the national baseline of 2.2%

NEW YORK — The Food and Drug Administration is allowing Roche to tap its reserves of the flu drug Tamiflu, according to published reports.

Reuters reported that the Swiss drug maker would start selling its reserve stock of the adult formulation of the drug, whose chemical name is oseltamivir.

The FDA has reported spot shortages of the pediatric formulation of the drug, but has said pharmacists can break open the capsules and dissolve it in liquid to create a substitute. Meanwhile, a shortage of the adult formulation has appeared in Canada.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administraiton has approved a treatment for replacing clotting proteins in the blood for conditions in which patients have too little of them.

The FDA announced the approval of Octapharma's Octaplas, a sterile, frozen solution of pooled human plasma from multiple donors that has been treated with a solvent detergent process.

WASHINGTON — More than 5,000 medicines are under development, of which 70% are potentially the first of their class, according to a new report.

NEW YORK — Fortune magazine has released its list of the 100 best companies to work for this year, and a number of retailers and suppliers made the cut.

Among retailers, Wegman's Food Markets came in at fifth place, with 8.3% job growth. Nugget Market, a supermarket chain based in Sacramento, Calif., ranked 37th; Whole Foods ranked 71st; and Publix Super Markets ranked 77th.

Among suppliers, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, ranked 20th; Genentech ranked 36th; and Novo Nordisk ranked 48th. Confectionary manufacturer Mars ranked 95th.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Protein Sciences' Flublok, the first trivalent influenza vaccine made using an insect virus (baculovirus) expression system and recombinant DNA technology. 

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals has enrolled the first patients in its late-stage trial of a treatment for hepatitis C, the drug maker said Thursday.

BI Pharmaceuticals is conducting the "HCVerso" trial of an HCV drug that combines faldaprevir, the experimental compound BI 207127 and ribavirin. The company has established trial sites in more than 25 states.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway on Wednesday shipped an additional 200,000 doses of flu vaccine to its pharmacies in the U.S.

"This additional quantity of flu vaccine will allow us to meet the needs of our customers to help them remain healthy this season," stated Darren Singer, SVP Pharmacy. "Our pharmacists administer the vaccine on a walk-in basis. The process is simple, convenient and affordable. We want all of our customers to have this protection."