Regulatory and Washington

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — NACDS has commissioned a poll of TRICARE beneficiaries that found broad interest for the TRICARE Acquisition Cost Parity Pilot Program for Retail Pharmacy. The pilot, included in the 2017 federal budget plan, would allow TRICARE beneficiaries to get their prescriptions from retail pharmacies, rather than by mail order or through military treatment facilities.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The House of Representatives is poised to pass the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017, which includes the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act, the Consumer Technology Association noted in a release on Tuesday. The act would create a new class of over-the-counter hearing aids and allows non-prescription hearing devices to be marketed to treat mild to moderate hearing loss.
 

WASHINGTON — The Council for Responsible Nutrition on Tuesday announced it is exploring adding representation for companies in the medical food industry to its mission, following a unanimous vote by the CRN board of directors at its June board meeting to launch an examination of this burgeoning sector of the nutrition category.

WASHINGTON — The Association for Accessible Medicines has named a new deputy general counsel. Rachel Sher joins the advocacy organization from her role as a senior policy analyst in the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Policy.

WASHINGTON — Twenty-one senators recently sent a letter to Defense Sec. James Mattis, encouraging him to implement the TRICARE Acqisition Cost Parity Pilot Program for Retail Pharmacy.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Steve Anderson, president and CEO of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, has submitted comments to the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, the organization announced Monday.

WASHINGTON — This week, the board of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores was pounding the pavement on Capitol Hill to share with lawmakers the role that pharmacy plays in the nation’s healthcare system.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has taken the first step in its recently announced effort to bring more generics to market to increase competition. The agency has posted a list of branded drugs that have no listed patents or exclusivities that currently have no approved generics and has instituted a new policy to speed up review of applications for generics of products with limited competition.