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INDIANAPOLIS — Drug maker Eli Lilly is warning patients to avoid using alcohol prep pads that come with one of its osteoporosis drugs due to the risk of bacterial infections.

NEW YORK — Drug makers Gilead Sciences and Roche are suing Indian drug maker Natco Pharma concerning a generic version of an influenza treatment, according to published reports.

Bloomberg reported that Gilead and Roche were accusing Natco of patent infringement due to its efforts to gain approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a generic version of Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate). Natco became the first company to file for approval of a generic version in February.

WILMINGTON, Del. — Anglo-Swedish drug maker AstraZeneca has enrolled the first patient in a late-stage clinical trial for a drug to treat constipation related to use of opioid painkillers, the company said.

CHICAGO — New federal and state regulations are expanding the role of the pharmacist, noted Richard Ashworth, Walgreens VP pharmacy services, during a live “Health Chat” hosted by Chicago Tribune reporter Bruce Japsen on Thursday afternoon. And that’s of benefit to patients at large, especially as “community pharmacy is located in the local communities and [is] a natural extension of the healthcare system,” Ashworth wrote.

NEW YORK — Pfizer is recalling a painkiller drug it acquired when it bought King Pharmaceuticals due to problems with a chemical used to deter drug abuse, according to a published report.

Reuters reported that Pfizer had recalled supplies of Embeda (morphine sulfate and naltrexone hydrochloride) because the chemical that prevents the drug from being ground up or dissolved by drug abusers — naltrexone — had deteriorated in samples of the drug that Pfizer had tested.

The drug has sales of less than $70 million per year, according to Reuters.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Commenting on a counterfeit pharmaceutical inter-agency working group report, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores stressed that it shares the goal of improving the public awareness of the risks posed from counterfeit drugs and unlawful online drug sellers, but expressed concern over the report's proposal to mandate a "track-and-trace" system in the United States, given the high cost it could pose for pharmacies.

SAN DIEGO — Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceutical have suspended a mid-stage trial of an obesity drug over safety concerns, the two said Wednesday.

The drug makers stopped the phase-2 trial of a combination of pramlintide and metreleptin due to problems that arose in two patients related to metreleptin. Amylin said the decision to suspend the trial did not affect its investigations of metreleptin as a treatment of diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia in patients with lipodystrophy.

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Two organizations focused on chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder have joined Drive4COPD, an organization founded by drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim that seeks to raise awareness of the disease.

Drive4COPD announced that the U.S. COPD Coalition and the COPD Alliance had joined the campaign, which now includes 40 associations and companies. The U.S. COPD Coalition adds another 38 organizations.