Cultural Competence

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Swiss skin drug maker Galderma Pharma will acquire another Swiss drug maker also focused on treatments for skin conditions, Galderma said.

Based in Egerkingen, Switzerland, Spirig makes treatments for such conditions as solar damage and skin barrier function impairment, as well as treatments for such precancerous conditions as actinic keratosis. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though it was noted that Spirig had sales of about $106 million in 2011. The global corporate headquarters of Galderma will remain in Lausanne, Switzerland.

EXTON, Pa. — Drug maker ViroPharma has launched an education campaign focused on a rare, debilitating and life-threatening genetic disorder.

The company announced Wednesday the launch of the unbranded campaign focused on hereditary angioedema, particularly the emotional and psychological burden faced by patients with the disease, which results from deficiency of the human plasma protein C1 inhibitor and causes attacks of swelling and pain.

AKRON, Ohio — Among children who took part in a recent study on the use of hand sanitizer in an environment with limited access to clean water, diarrhea cases were reduced by 30% and respiratory illnesses by more than 11%, GOJO Industries noted in a release issued Tuesday. 

The University of Columbia study was reported in the June 2012 issue of Pan American Journal of Public Health. As part of the study, researchers monitored children's use of alcohol hand sanitizer in conjunction with education to help to reduce life-threatening infections.

Here’s a shocking statistic: half of the roughly 4 billion prescriptions dispensed by U.S. pharmacies are not taken as prescribed, according to The New England Journal of Medicine, which blames the problem for 33% to 69% of all medication-related hospital admissions. Nonadherence is also linked to some 125,000 deaths every year in the United States.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — On World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, Walgreens will encourage communities to focus on the importance of HIV testing and early treatment, both services addressed through its more than 700 HIV-specialized pharmacies coast to coast, the company announced Wednesday. 

SEATTLE — A new review of existing studies points toward a potential role for vitamin D in helping to prevent dental caries, or tooth decay. The review, published in the December issue of Nutrition Reviews, encompassed 24 controlled clinical trials, spanning the 1920s to the 1980s, on approximately 3,000 children in several countries. These trials showed that vitamin D was associated with an approximately 50% reduction in the incidence of tooth decay, the University of Washington announced Tuesday. 

CINCINNATI — A new University of Cincinnati study released last week examined how anxiety sensitivity can thwart the efforts of smokers with asthma to quit smoking. This new direction of research from Alison McLeish, a UC assistant professor of psychology, was presented Nov.17 at the 46th annual convention of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in National Harbor, Md.

NEW YORK — Spurred by health reform and other factors, a "golden era" could be approaching for drug companies as they reinvent themselves, according to a new report by PwC.

The report, "Pharma 2020: From Vision to Decision," said that the industry was on the verge of an era of renewed productivity and prosperity, but its success was not guaranteed.