Regulatory and Washington

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — A generic painkiller made by Watson Pharmaceuticals does not infringe on the patent covering the branded version, a U.S. District Court has ruled.

Watson said the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware ruled that Watson’s generic version of Cephalon’s Fentora (fentanyl buccal tablets) does not infringe on two patents that were set to expire in March 2019, according to Food and Drug Administration records.

WASHINGTON — Five senators have issued a letter to Food and Drug Administration commissioner Margaret Hamburg to expand Americans' access to affordable medications by avoiding the delay of generic drug approvals.

NEW YORK — The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus on Monday referred advertising for the dietary supplement Trigosamine Fast Acting (Trigo FA) to the Federal Trade Commission for further review following Patent Health’s failure to modify claims.

WASHINGTON — Members of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association last week elected Paul Sturman, president and general manager of Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, to chair the association’s board, the association announced Monday.

WASHINGTON — By 2015, “pharmacists will be the healthcare professionals responsible for providing patient care that ensures optimal medication therapy outcomes.” That was the consensus reached in the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners' vision statement at the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board’s Consumer Awareness, Resources, Education, State Policy and Testing Summit last month.

WASHINGTON — Reps. Charles Boustany, R-La., and John Larson, D-Conn., on Friday introduced bipartisan legislation that would eliminate the “use-it-or-lose-it” provision associated with flexible spending accounts.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Ten members of Congress expressed concerns over a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that is said to reduce Medicare program costs, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

NEW YORK — "Fake drugs are a big threat and an exploding threat," Kumar Kibble, deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told the news program "60 Minutes" in a segment that appeared Sunday night.