HEALTH

BETHESDA, Md. Relatively healthy patients with Type 2 diabetes experienced a significant reduction in blood-sugar levels when taking an investigational treatment for Type 2 diabetes made by Spherix, the biotechnology company said Thursday.

Spherix announced results of a phase-3 trial of D-tagatose, which showed that the drug was more effective in American patients than in Indian patients.

NORWALK, Conn. The global pharmaceutical market will reach a value of $880 billion next year, according to a report by market research firm IMS Health.

IMS Health forecasted 5% to 7% growth in 2011 in its annual IMS Market Prognosis, compared with 4% to 5% growth this year.

LAS VEGAS Professional Therapy MuscleCare last month was awarded “best new product” at the ECRM Health Management EPPS held here. The award, sponsored by Drug Store News, is presented to the manufacturer that collects the most “best new product” votes from retailers attending the event.

As part of its initial rollout, MuscleCare has penned a sponsorship deal with the International Federation of Sports Chiropractic, a group of sports chiropractors from 30 countries that treat Olympic and nationally ranked athletes.

TEL AVIV, Israel A new Tel Aviv University study found a test used to diagnose gestational diabetes in women could be a key indicator to diagnosing Type 2 diabetes.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. The National Community Pharmacists Association is urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to follow guidance that Congress included in the healthcare-reform law in its implementation of a new Medicaid generic drug reimbursement formula based on average manufacturer price, the organization said Tuesday.

CMS recently withdrew provisions that would have dramatically cut Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement to community pharmacies from a previously proposed AMP rule due to an injunction that the NCPA obtained in 2007.