Licensing

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — US Bioservices, the specialty pharmacy of AmerisourceBergen, on Monday announced that it had received the Specialty Pharmacy Accreditation from URAC, a Washington-based healthcare accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the healthcare industry.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a topical gel made by Antares Pharma for overactive bladder.

Watson Pharmaceuticals announced Thursday the approval of oxybutynin gel in the 3% strength, which it will launch next year under a licensing agreement with Antares.

PITTSBURGH — Generic drug maker Mylan and a partnering company are challenging the patent on a contraceptive drug.

Mylan said Thursday that it and Famy Care had been sued by Warner Chilcott in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey following their filing of a regulatory approval application with the Food and Drug Administration for norethindrone and ethinyl estradiol chewable tablets and ferrous fumarate chewable tablets, a generic version of Warner Chilcott's Generess Fe.

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas is launching a certification program for pharmacy technicians, the school said.

The university's Professional Development Center, part of its Division of Continuing and Innovative Education, will begin classes in February. Students in the 14-week program, which includes a 120-hour internship at a local pharmacy, will learn the skills needed to work as pharmacy technicians, under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration confirmed last week that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Donald Berwick will step down from his post on Dec. 2.

Berwick, who was nominated to the position by President Obama in April 2010, was supposed to lead the agency through the end of the year as part of his recess appointment.

Marilyn Tavenner, CMS principal deputy administrator, will succeed Berwick, according to a statement made by Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration last week took legal action against the dietary supplement manufacturer ATF Fitness Products for substituting ingredients and products without noting the changes on the final product labels.

The permanent injunction, filed on behalf of the FDA by the U.S. Department of Justice, would stop the defendants from making and distributing more than 400 products for being in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Brands include Sci-Fit, Nature's Science and For Store Only.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The recent approval of a 10% reimbursement rate cut in California’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has prompted provider groups to file a lawsuit against the California Department of Healthcare Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, alleging that the cuts did not follow proper legal channels.

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. — Manchester College is looking for a new leader for its pharmacy school, the private university's president said Tuesday.

The school's vice president and founding dean, Philip Medon, has resigned for health-related reasons, prompting the university to launch a nationwide search for a new dean. Medon joined the school last year. The school currently has 23 faculty and offers a four-year professional doctoral program. Classes are set to begin in August 2012.