Pharmacy Technology

NEW YORK — The Food and Drug Administration recently approved two "robotic pills," or pills that place an image camera or ingestible sensors into the gastrointestinal tract, according to a report published earlier this week by the Wall Street Journal. 

Other robotic pills still in development include one backed by Google — a pill that would replace injectable drugs, the report noted. 

Where is pharmacy technology headed, and how will it be put to use by pharmacists and the companies that employ them?

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble has reportedly developed the first smartphone-connected toothbrush to give consumers personalized advice for better oral health, according to a Reuters report.

The toothbrush, which is slated to launch in June under the Oral-B brand, was unveiled during the Mobile World Congress last week in Barcelona, Reuters reported.

PRINCETON, N.J. — Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of UCB, announced the launch of rabeprazole sodium delayed-release tablets. The drug is used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease in adults and adolescents, according to the FDA.

The product is the bioequivalent to Aciphex from Eisai. Kremers Urban rabeprazole sodium delayed-release tablets are available in 20-mg strength in both 30- and 90-count bottles.

To put it in Facebook terms, the pharmaceutical industry by and large has yet to friend American consumers.

A new report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics concludes that fewer than half of the top 50 global pharmaceutical manufacturers “have some level of healthcare social media engagement.” This, despite the fact that “increasingly, patients are turning to social media as an essential forum for obtaining and sharing information related to their health,” noted Murray Aitken, the institute’s executive director.

Where is pharmacy automation headed, and how will it be put to use by pharmacists and the companies that employ them?

NEW YORK — Lawmakers in Florida are looking into ways to ease regulatory limitations for telemedicine in an effort to increase access to care and create “a fertile ground” for the technology to be used, according to a local report.