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LONDON British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline has stopped a late-stage trial of a vaccine for genital herpes, citing disappointing results, GSK said Thursday.

DEERFIELD, Ill. Walgreens announced Thursday that Jeffrey Berkowitz, a former SVP at drug maker Merck, has joined the company.

Berkowitz will serve as Walgreens' SVP pharmaceutical development and market access, responsible for the overall pharmacy contracting strategy for the company, both on the pharmaceutical manufacturing side and on the retail payer side, the drug store chain said. He will report to Walgreens' pharmacy services president Kermit Crawford.

BURLINGTON, Mass. The drug market for Crohn's disease treatments will see moderate growth over the next decade, Decision Resources reported Wednesday.

The research firm projected that the market will increase a little more than 31%, from $3.2 billion in 2009 to $4.2 billion in 2019, in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan. Decision Resources said the the modest growth rate masks such market changes as new and emerging biologics, as well as generic competition.

RARITAN, N.J. An investigational drug made by Johnson & Johnson for treating pain showed significant reduction in pain intensity compared with placebo in patients with moderate to severe lower back pain, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial announced Monday.

SILVER SPRING, Md. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new oral contraceptive from Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals.

The FDA announced Friday the approval of Beyaz (estrogen and progestin) tablets. The pills also contain a folate known as levomefolate calcium. Low folate levels in the body are associated with such conditions as spina bifida, and physicians recommend that women of childbearing age supplement their diets with folate.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. Several lots of two drugs used to treat anemia are being recalled due to possible contamination.

Amgen said Friday that it was voluntarily recalling certain lots of Epogen and Procrit (epoetin alfa) from distributors, wholesalers, healthcare providers and pharmacies as a precaution due to the possible presence of extremely thin and barely visible glass flakes known as lamellae that result from an interaction between the drugs and the glass vials used to store them.

ABBOTT PARK, Ill. Drug makers Abbott and Reata Pharmaceuticals have signed an agreement concerning a drug for chronic kidney disease.

The two companies said Thursday that they would develop and commercialize bardoxolone methyl, currently in mid-stage clinical trials.

SILVER SPRING, Md. The Food and Drug Administration has moved to significantly restrict access to a controversial diabetes drug made by GlaxoSmithKline.

The agency said Thursday that it would restrict access to the Type 2 diabetes medication Avandia (rosiglitazone) in response to clinical study data suggesting that its use can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.