Regulatory and Washington

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings, the parent company of mass merchandiser Kmart, is throwing its support behind a bill that would grant states authority to enforce existing sales tax laws and require out-of-state online retailers to collect and remit sales taxes on sales made to their residents.

The Marketplace Fairness Act was sponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.; Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.; as well as Reps. Steve Womack, R-Ark.; Kristi Noem, R-S.D.; Peter Welch, D-Vt.; and John Conyers, D-Mich.

WASHINGTON — Two Democrats from West Virginia are sponsoring legislation in the House and Senate to combat prescription drug abuse.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The philanthropic arm of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores is supporting various heart-health programs around the country to support a Department of Health and Human Services campaign.

The NACDS Foundation announced the launch of the NACDS Foundation and Million Hearts "Heart to Heart Community Health Fairs," supporting HHS' "Team Up, Pressure Down" campaign. Various initiatives will take place in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

JERUSALEM — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder made by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the Israeli generic drug maker said.

WASHINGTON — According to a report filed to Congress by the Government Accountability Office on Wednesday, the seizures of methamphetamine-producing labs declined following state and federal sales restrictions on pseudoephedrine. And while electronic tracking systems help enforce PSE sales limits, those efforts have not reduced meth lab incidents and have limitations related to smurfing, the GAO added. 

WASHINGTON — Two nonprofit groups focused on asthma and allergies will merge to combine their efforts.

The Kids with Food Allergies Foundation will become a division of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, and the combined organization will provide education, advocacy, research, social networking and support for families living with the diseases. The groups' boards agreed to merge in 2012.

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has granted special designation to a drug made by Eisai for treating thyroid cancer.

The drug maker said Thursday that its experimental drug E7080 (lenvatinib) had received orphan drug designation from the FDA for follicular, medullary, anapestic and metastatic or locally advanced papillary thyroid cancer.

NEW YORK — Google seems to have found a nifty niche for itself with Google Flu Trends, which seeks to track the influenza outbreak by monitoring Web searches for flu-related topics, but its accuracy may be in doubt, according to published reports.

Nature reported that a comparison between data from Google Flu Trends and official surveillance data found that the Google tool had overestimated peak flu levels. Nevertheless, according to Nature, the problem is minor, and the Internet services giant will probably be able to fix it.