Retail Clinics

ORLANDO, Fla. — This year’s fourth annual Retail Clinician Education Congress kicked off on Monday, bringing together hundreds of retail healthcare professionals to network, receive exclusive accreditation and honor those providers and key executive leaders whose work throughout the year has distinguished them among their peers in retail health care.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark is gearing up for flu season and will leverage both its CVS/pharmacy locations and MinuteClinic sites to provide flu shots for patients every day, including evenings and weekends, and will offer direct medical billing to many national and regional health plans that will cover all or part of the cost of a flu shot.

NEW YORK — Researchers have found a human antibody that may be able to protect against all influenza A viruses, according to published reports.

The antibody, FI6, could lead to the development of a universal flu vaccine because it targets groups 1 and 2, the two main groups of the influenza A virus. Previously, researchers had not been able to find an antibody that worked against both groups.

The researchers have found the antibody effective in mice and ferrets, according to the reports.

IRVINGTON, N.Y. — Prestige Brands on Thursday announced the launch of its new PediaCare and Little Remedies single-concentration acetaminophen products.

The new standard concentration liquid acetaminophen products for infants and children under 2 years of age will be 160 mg/5 mL.

“The voluntary changes to single-concentration acetaminophen dosing demonstrate the continued commitment to accuracy, safety and innovation from PediaCare and Little Remedies," Prestige VP over-the-counter products Albert Hwang said.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — PharmaCline on Thursday announced it has secured the worldwide rights for drug delivery technology and existing antibiotic products from Phillips Co. that will enable production of a well-tolerated and broad-spectrum topical antibiotic.

BANGALORE, India — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic drug for diabetes made by Indian generic drug maker Strides Arcolab.

The FDA approved acarbose tablets in the 25-mg, 50-mg and 100-mg strengths. The drug is a niche drug used to treat Type 2 diabetes, Strides said.

Acarbose tablets have sales of about $21 million, according to IMS Health.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Almost half of all smokers try and fail to quit their addiction to nicotine products each year, according to a study released Wednesday.

A contributing factor to the high rate of failed quit attempts is the low use of nicotine-replacement therapies, the study found. That may be because of misperceptions around the health effects of NRTs.

WOONSOCKET, R.I., and DETROIT — Henry Ford Health System is working to increase its capacity to serve patients in metropolitan Detroit through a new collaborative effort with CVS Caremark's MinuteClinic.

MinuteClinic has 10 walk-in clinics inside select CVS/pharmacy stores in Southeast Michigan and is exploring additional locations in the Detroit metropolitan area.