Regulatory and Washington

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Generic drug maker Watson Pharmaceuticals is challenging the patent protection of a contraceptive drug made by Warner Chilcott, Watson said Friday.

The company announced that it had filed a regulatory application with the Food and Drug Administration for norethindrone acetate and ethinyl estradiol tablets in the 1-mg/0.01-mg strength and ethinyl estradiol and ferrous fumarate tablets in the 0.01-mg/75-mg strength. The treatment is a generic version of Warner Chilcott's Lo Loestrin Fe.

ATLANTA — People with higher levels of education and higher income have lower rates of many chronic diseases compared with those with less education and lower income levels, according to "Health, United States, 2011" — the government’s annual comprehensive report on Americans’ health released Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Technology is helping pharmacies provide services to rural areas by allowing them to remotely monitor pharmacy technicians, according to the country's largest organization that certifies pharmacy techs.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved generic versions of one of the country's top-selling drugs made by eight different companies, the agency said Thursday.

BALTIMORE — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services earlier this month released a memo to all Part D sponsors, warning them that the agency has "observed an increase in beneficiary complaints related to the transfer of prescriptions from retail pharmacies to either mail-order or specialty pharmacy without their explicit consent."

ATLANTA — Asthma is having a growing effect on the country's health, according to a new study.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its "Asthma's Impact on the Nation" report Wednesday, based on data gathered using the "Asthma Call-back Survey" of people with the disease. An estimated 29.1 million American adults, or 12.7% of the total, have been diagnosed with asthma in their lifetimes, while 18.7 million, or 8.2%, still had asthma in 2010.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.  — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has emphasized the commitment of NACDS and the chain pharmacy industry to partner with policy-makers and others to improve quality and lower costs in the healthcare delivery system in a statement sent to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, NACDS announced on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — A consumer group is urging the Food and Drug Administration to review a proprietary point-of-purchase nutrition rating system that it said is "inconsistent with FDA guidance statements and enforcement correspondence, federal nutrition programs and recommendations from the Institute of Medicine."