Branded

DANBURY, Conn. — A biopharmaceutical company that specializes in diabetes treatments has appointed a new board chairman.

Biodel said that effective immediately, Brian Pereira, who has served on the drug maker's board since 2007, will become chairman. Current chairman Charles Sanders, who served as chairman since March 2010 after joining the board in August 2006, will continue to serve as a board member, Biodel said.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Canadian drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals has proposed to buy Cephalon for $5.7 billion, Valeant said Tuesday.

The buyout offer, equal to $73 per share, includes a 29% premium over Cephalon’s stock price. Valeant noted it had made previous offers, but was “disappointed by Cephalon’s unwillingness to engage in discussions in a timely manner.”

NEW YORK — For many patients, the inability to pay for drugs is enough of a problem, but what if the drugs they need aren’t available at all?

According to a new report by the Premier Healthcare Alliance, more than 240 drugs were hard to find or entirely unavailable, while more than 400 generic versions of branded drugs were backordered for more than five days. Premier said shortages had more than tripled since 2005, with the frequency and effects rising to critical levels and affecting all segments of health care.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Looking to further communicate the important role pharmacy plays in the healthcare delivery system, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores president and CEO Steve Anderson ran an opinion column in a "Medication Non-Adherence" supplement published Monday by Mediaplanet and distributed in The Washington Post.

BRISTOL, Tenn. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a topical treatment for genital warts made by Graceway Pharmaceuticals, the drug maker said Monday.

The FDA approved Zyclara (imiquimod) cream in the 3.75% strength for patients ages 12 years and older. According to clinical trial data, the cream effectively cleared genital warts, and of patients who achieved complete clearance, only a small percentage had a recurrence 12 weeks after treatment.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — "Dispense-as-written" prescriptions are exacerbating medication nonadherence and costing the U.S. healthcare system billions of dollars, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and CVS Caremark.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a vaccine for shingles in older patients.

The agency said Thursday that it had approved Merck’s Zostavax (zoster vaccine live) vaccine in patients ages 50 to 59 years. The vaccine already is approved for those ages 60 years and older.

Shingles, caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox, affects about 200,000 people in the United States ages 50 to 59 years each year.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — A pill developed by AstraZeneca and Pozen that combines a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug with a proton-pump inhibitor was well-tolerated in patients with osteoarthritis, according to a new study.

AstraZeneca announced results of PN400-304, a 12-month study of Vimovo (naproxen and esomeprazole magnesium) delayed-release tablets in patients with osteoarthritis who need daily treatment with NSAIDs but are at risk of NSAID-related gastric ulcers. Vimovo is designed to reduce pain while reducing gastric ulcer risk.