Regulatory and Washington

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug for obsessive compulsive disorder made by Par Pharmaceutical Cos., the drug maker said Thursday.

Par announced the approval and shipment of fluvoxamine maleate extended-release capsules in the 100-mg and 150-mg strengths. The drug is a generic version of Jazz Pharmaceuticals' Luvox CR.

EDMONTON, Alberta — A plan to significantly reduce generic drug prices in Alberta has drawn criticism from pharmacists in the Canadian province.

The Alberta Pharmacists' Association said it was "shocked" in response to the provincial government's 2013 budget, which reduces generic drug prices from 35% to 18% of branded drug prices, effective May 1. Over the past two years, prices have been reduced from 75% to 35%, but the RxA said it supported the government in those cases.

BETHESDA, Md. — The improvement in cardiovascular health that results from quitting smoking far outweighs the limited risks to cardiovascular health from the modest amount of weight gained after quitting, according to a National Institutes of Health-funded community study released Wednesday. 

NEW YORK — Bills introduced in Oregon's state legislature would allow employers and other health plan sponsors to have greater knowledge about how pharmacy benefit managers determine the rates at which they pay pharmacies for dispensing generic drugs; establish new standards for pharmacy audits while requiring PBMs to register in the state and be licensed by the state board of pharmacy; and prevent health plans from requiring residents of the state to use mail-order pharmacies.

WASHINGTON — Retail sales for the month of February rose by 1.1% seasonally adjusted month to month, according to figures released Wednesday by the Department of Commerce.

The newly released figures include nongeneral merchandise categories, such as automobiles, gas stations and restaurants; excluding those, sales rose 0.7%, while rising 0.5% unadjusted year over year. The National Retail Federation noted that sales beat estimates as consumers adapted and adjusted spending in response to higher gas prices and the payroll tax increase.

LOS ANGELES — Actress Meryl Streep will encourage people to get screened for colorectal cancer in a new series of public service announcements from the Entertainment Industry Foundation's National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the groups said Wednesday.

NAPLES, Fla. — The Consumer Healthcare Products Association's Annual Executive Conference was sold out for the first time since 2001, CHPA president and CEO Scott Melville told a packed morning session, and that is a strong prognosticator as to the health and vitality of the self-care industry. 

NEW YORK — The attorneys general of 46 states and two territories are calling on the Food and Drug Administration to make prescription painkillers harder to abuse.