Regulatory and Washington

WASHINGTON — The American Pharmacists Association's philanthropic wing has appointed five new members to its board of directors, the group said Monday.

The APhA Foundation announced in September the official installment of Stuart Haines, professor of and vice chairman for clinical services in the Unviersity of Maryland School of Pharmacy's Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science in Baltimore, as well as a clinical pharmacy specialist in primary care at the West Palm Beach, Fla., VA Medical Center.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Swiss drug maker Novartis is providing a vaccine to Princeton University amid an outbreak of potentially fatal meningitis that has affected at least eight students, the university said Monday.

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration's Office of Generic Drugs will be elevated to a "super office," a top official in the agency told staff members in a memo Monday.

FOSTER CITY, Calif. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for hepatitis C made by Gilead Sciences, the drug maker said Friday.

NEW YORK — While a vaccine against measles has been available for 50 years, the disease remains a threat in the United States, particularly when acquired by children entering the country from abroad, according to a new report.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a treatment for a sexual deformity that affects men.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Sears Holdings is spinning off its clothing business, the parent company of Kmart said Friday.

Sears said it had filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to spin off Lands' End. The company hopes that separating the management of Sears Holdings and Lands' end will make it easier for the latter to pursue opportunities on its own.

NEW YORK — Compounding pharmacies that produce sterile drugs can register as outsourcing facilities and may be exempt from certain Food and Drug Administration approval requirements, according to a document published on the FDA's website.