Branded

DEERFIELD Ill. — A Walgreens study released Wednesday has found that patients starting high cholesterol medication for the first time who participated in enhanced face-to-face counseling sessions with a community pharmacist demonstrated better medication adherence than those who did not participate in the sessions.

QUINCY, Mass. — Two supermarket chains owned by Royal Ahold are dispensing prescription pet drugs at their stores, they said Wednesday.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A counterfeit version of a Teva Pharmaceutical Industries attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy drug is circulating online, regulators warned Tuesday.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a statement warning consumers and healthcare professionals that a fake versions of Adderall (dextroamphetamine and amphetamine) tablets in the 30-mg strength are being sold on the Internet.

NEW YORK — An experimental drug made by Pfizer for a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease got a favorable vote from a Food and Drug Administration expert panel.

The FDA's Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee voted 13-4 that the drug tafamidis meglumine would provide certain clinical benefits to patients with transthyretin familial amyloid polyneuropathy, or TTR-FAP, a hereditary disease that affects about 8,000 people worldwide. The FDA is not required to follow the recommendations of FDA advisory committees, but usually does.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Generic drug maker Watson Pharmaceuticals has entered a settlement that will allow it to launch a generic patch used to treat post herpetic neuralgia, a pain disorder associated with shingles.

Watson announced Tuesday a settlement through one of its subsidiaries with Endo Pharmaceuticals and Teikoku Seiyaku Co. over its generic version of Lidoderm (lidocaine) topical patch. Lidoderm had sales of $1.2 billion during the 12-month period ended in March 2012, according to IMS Health.

SAN DIEGO — Findings from a new study indicate that more than half of the patients with ulcerative colitis who received subcutaneous injections of a drug used to treat autoimmune disorders responded to the treatment.

Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Research and Development announced results of a phase-3 trial of Simponi (golimumab) in ulcerative colitis patients whose condition had previously failed to improve with or who were intolerant to conventional drugs.

RARITAN, N.J. — A Food and Drug Administration expert panel has recommended against expanding the approval of a Johnson & Johnson drug, the company said.

J&J subsidiary Janssen Research & Development said the FDA's Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee voted against recommending approval of Xarelto (rivaroxaban) combined with antiplatelet drugs to reduce the risk of secondary cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

CHADDS FORD, Pa. — The parent company of Endo Pharmaceuticals has changed its name, the company said.

Shareholders of Endo Pharmaceutical Holdings voted at the company's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday to change the company's name to Endo Health Solutions. The company said the name change would more accurately reflect its new business model, which aggregates four operating businesses into one enterprise.