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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Colonial Life and Accident Insurance last week released its top five trends and predictions for health care in 2012 — three of which may have some direct impact on retail pharmacy.

NEW YORK — Ideas are just as important to a winning company’s overall success as the products and services it sells. So, what’s your company doing to create a culture where the ideas that create your products and services are as important as the products themselves? That’s the question Dan Mack — EVP strategic business development for The Swanson Group and founder of the Mack Elevation Forum — puts to DrugStoreNews.com users in a hot, new content feature that debuted this week on DrugStoreNews.com.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — An appeals court has thrown out an attempt by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to stop Watson Pharmaceuticals from selling a generic contraceptive, Watson said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court's June 16 decision to deny Duramed Pharmaceuticals' request for an injunction that would stop Watson from selling a generic version of Seasonique (levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol [0.15 mg/0.03 mg] and ethinyl estradiol [0.01 mg]). Duramed originally was a subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals, which Teva acquired in 2008.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Watson Pharmaceuticals is challenging three of Swiss drug maker Novartis' patents on a drug used to treat dementia, Watson said.

The company said subsidiary Watson Labs had filed for approval generic rivastigmine transdermal system patches in the 4.6-mg and 9.5-mg strengths, both designed to last for 24 hours, with the Food and Drug Administration. The patches are used to treat mild to moderate dementia associated with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A drug commonly prescribed to Type 2 diabetics to improve blood-sugar control also may have a rapid anti-inflammatory effect, according to results from a small study conducted by researchers at the University of Buffalo.

NEW YORK — CVS/pharmacy. Rite Aid. Walgreens. Sam’s Club. Ahold. H-E-B. The Katz Group. Giant Eagle. Good Neighbor. Health Mart. The list of participating companies in the 13th Annual Drug Store News Group Industry Issues conference — which will be held Tuesday, Nov. 29, here at the highly prestigious New York Athletic Club — reads like a “who’s who” of pharmacy retailing.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — A former Goldman Sachs executive will join Valeant Pharmaceuticals as EVP and CFO.

Howard Schiller will take over the position from Philip Loberg, who has been serving as Valeant's interim CFO on Dec. 1. Prior to his new role, Schiller was COO for Goldman Sachs' investment banking division until his retirement in January.

DALLAS — Employers and consumers alike are adopting health savings accounts as a viable way to manage their healthcare costs without compromising care, according to two national surveys released Thursday.