Regulatory and Washington

CHICAGO — The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education has established a memorandum of understanding with an organization of French-speaking pharmacy school deans and educators to cooperate and collaborate to advance the quality of pharmacy education around the world.

NEW YORK — An experimental drug under development by Gilead Sciences for hepatitis C is safe and effective when combined with other treatments, according to a review posted on the Food and Drug Administration's website ahead of an expert panel meeting to take place Friday.

WASHINGTON — A project by the philanthropic wing of the American Pharmacists Association to include pharmacists on diabetes care teams in highly affected and underserved communities has produced significant decreases in blood-sugar levels among patients, according to results released Thursday.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new formulation of a drug made by Genentech for rheumatoid arthritis that can be injected into the skin.

Genentech announced the approval of a subcutaneous formulation of Actemra (tocilizumab) in adults for adults with moderate RA who have not found sufficient relief by taking such disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs as methotrexate. Like the intravenous formulation of Actemra, the new version can be used alone or with drugs like methotrexate.

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has granted breakthrough therapy designation to an experimental drug made by Merck for hepatitis C, the drug maker said.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration plans to complete its phase out of inhalers that contain ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons by the end of the year, the agency said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Air Force master sergeant has been named the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board's Certified Pharmacy Technician of the Year, the PTCB said.

The PTCB announced that master sergeant Jessica Hughes, the non-commissioned officer in charge of pharmacy support at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, in New Jersey, was selected as the PTCB CPhT of the Year. The finalists also included Rico Powell and Linda Henson.

BETHESDA, Md. — Researchers have begun the first definitive, large-scale clinical trial to investigate if a vitamin D supplement helps prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes in adults who have prediabetes and are at high risk for developing Type 2. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the study is taking place at about 20 study sites across the United States, the agency announced Monday.