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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Biotech drug maker Amgen has joined the list of companies offering testimony at a Food and Drug Administration hearing on biosimilars Friday.

NEW YORK — A Food and Drug Administration expert panel has recommended approval for a drug made by Pfizer for treating rheumatoid arthritis.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Kerr Drug announced the launch of its Healthy Pet program, offering a full range of pet medications that customers can order online on the chain's website and have delivered to their homes, the regional retail pharmacy chain said Wednesday.

BOTHELL, Wash. — Seattle Genetics and Takeda's cancer drug subsidiary have started a late-stage clinical trial for a lymphoma drug, the companies said Wednesday.

Seattle Genetics and Millennium announced the start of a phase-3 trial of Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) in patients relapsed cutaneous T-cell lymphoma that expresses the CD30 cell membrane protein. The study will enroll more than 120 patients who will be divided into two groups, one of which will receive Adcetris and another that will receive methotrexate or bexarotene.

WASHINGTON — An organization that promotes efforts to stop prescription drug abuse announced Tuesday the release of a mobile app that directs users to places where they can safely get rid of unwanted and unused medications.

The American Medicine Chest Challenge said the AMCC Rx Drop app, sponsored by the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, links to the AMCC's directory of local, county and state law enforcement-sponsored permanent collection sites around the country. The app is available for Apple and Android devices.

NEW YORK — A generic version of a schizophrenia drug made by Otsuka Holdings and Bristol-Myers Squibb can't be launched until April 2015, according to published reports.

Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the validity of patents covering Abilify (aripiprazole) in the two companies' lawsuit against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Apotex.

According to IMS Health, Abilify was the fourth top-selling drug in the United States in 2011, with sales of $5.2 billion.

CHICAGO — Consumption of probiotics is associated with a reduced risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, a common adverse effect of antibiotic use, according to a review and meta-analysis of previous studies published in the May 9 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — University of British Columbia researchers may have found a way to develop universal flu vaccines and eliminate the need for seasonal flu vaccinations, university officials announced Tuesday.