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SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug made by Shire for a rare autoimmune condition, the agency said.

The FDA announced the approval of Firazyr (icatibant) for acute attacks of hereditary angioedema in patients ages 18 years and older. HAE, which affects fewer than 30,000 people in the United States, results from improper function of C1 inhibitor, a protein that regulates how certain immune system and blood clotting pathways function.

ATLANTA — Increases in vaccination rates for the human papillomavirus are trailing increases in rates for two other vaccines recommended for teens and preteens, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Thursday.

Coverage rates for the other two vaccines — Tdap, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis; and MenACWY, which protects against meningococcal meningitis — are continuing to increase, but vaccination rates for HPV vaccine remain low, the study found.

WILMINGTON, Del. — AstraZeneca is offering a discount savings program for its prescription acid reflux disease treatment.

The company said its new Nexium savings card is designed to offer eligible patients instant discounts on their prescriptions for the drug. AstraZeneca noted that the offer is good for up to $50 off on 12 prescriptions of at least a 30-day supply of Nexium, must be used within 14 months of the first prescription fill and cannot be combined with any other offer. Additionally, the offer is not valid for patients that have a co-pay of $18 or less.

BAGSVÆRD, Denmark — Novo Nordisk is investing 1 billion Danish kroner ($193.9 million) into two new office buildings in Bagsværd, Denmark.

The drug maker said the new premises will house Novo Nordisk’s top management, 1,100 administrative employees and a number of shared facilities.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Amgen has launched an educational campaign that targets women with postmenopausal osteoporosis at increased risk for fractures.

The drug maker said that to promote its Act 2 Reduce Fractures campaign, which is supported by American Bone Health, the Global Healthy Living Foundation and the Older Women's League, the company has tapped award-winning actress Blythe Danner, who was diagnosed with the disease, to encourage women to learn of the risk factors and ways to improve their condition.

AMITYVILLE, N.Y. — Hi-Tech Pharmacal has acquired marketing and distribution rights for a product designed to treat coughs and upper respiratory symptoms associated with an allergy or a cold.

The generic drug maker said it attained rights for TussiCaps, available in 10-mg/8-mg and 5-mg/4-mg formulations, from Mallinckrodt. Hi-Tech's ECR Pharmaceuticals subsidiary, which markets branded prescription products, will promote TussiCaps, the only extended-release prescription cough-cold capsule product approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The final outcome of the battle between Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Canada’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International to buy Cephalon serves as a good illustration of why it helps to have a plan B.


In May, Teva beat out Valeant’s $5.7 billion offer to buy Frazier, Pa.-based Cephalon with a $6.8 billion offer of its own, acquiring Cephalon’s hefty pipeline in the process. And last month, Teva bought Taiyo Pharmaceutical Industry, Japan’s third-largest generics company, for $934 million.



A worldwide flood of counterfeit and unsafe medications is seeping into the United States and other developed countries via the Internet and porous borders, threatening public health and the security of the pharmaceutical supply chain. In response, federal drug safety overseers and such drug manufacturers as Pfizer are working to shore up the integrity of drug supplies and stop production of fake and adulterated pharmaceuticals at their source.