HEALTH

 SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced a pair of penal actions against companies operating outside of dietary supplement regulations. 

A federal judge granted the FDA a permanent injunction against Truman Berst, doing business as Alternative Health & Herbs Remedies of Albany, Ore., for selling products represented as herbs and supplements with claims for treating diseases.

 BASEL, Switzerland — Progress at re-opening its manufacturing facility in Lincoln, Neb., has been slow-going, Novartis reported Thursday, but the company has contracted third-party manufacturers to resume production of Excedrin, Lamisil and Triaminic. First shipments to retailers were made in October. 

NEW YORK — The owner of an independent pharmacy in New York has won a national award for his diabetes education and counseling efforts.

Ronald Del Gaudio, a graduate of Long Island University's College of Pharmacy, also known as LIU Pharmacy, and the owner of Kings Pharmacy in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, has won the Health Mart Diabetes Care Excellence Award from the independent pharmacy franchise company, the university said. Kings Pharmacy, a member of Health Mart, includes two pharmacies in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan.

PALM CITY, Fla. — GelStat is primed to grow its OTC remedy business, according to a letter to shareholders and prospective investors released Tuesday. 

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — As many as 97% of parents are confident they administered the correct dose of acetaminophen when using AccuDial Pharmaceutical's weight-based dosing label, according to research published earlier this year.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Diabetes Association on Wednesday announced that Walgreens has reaffirmed its commitment as a National Strategic Partner and will continue to help the program Stop Diabetes by supporting the association's Type 2 diabetes prevention initiative for consumers called CheckUp America. 

ALBANY — Leosons Overseas on Tuesday announced the acquisition of the brands N’Ice and Fiberall from Insight Pharmaceuticals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

"We are proud of our growth and success of these brands, and we feel that this acquisition will further our mission to deliver the best U.S.-made products globally," said John Ohanian, general manager and president of Leosons. "The acquisition … will broaden our existing sales and distribution reach, as well as bring scale to our business.” 

DENVER — Although 77% of general shoppers compare store brands to brand names, 90% of women compare both regularly, according to a shopper behavior study conducted by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research that was published Thursday in The Checkout.