Specialty Pharmacy

SILVER SPRING, Md. — One of the most serious drug abuse problems in the country doesn't involve heroin, methamphetamine or crack, but abuse of legal prescription drugs, particularly opioid painkillers, a problem that the Food and Drug Administration aims to change with draft guidance released Wednesday.

Drug Store News has introduced a new app for print subscribers to DSN magazine: DSN+.

Available for free download at the Apple Store, DSN+ turns a page of Drug Store News into an interactive experience, linking readers seamlessly from print to digital, as quickly and easily as it is to take a picture with a smartphone.

SAN FRANCISCO — Biotech companies saw a decline in project delays due to regulations over the past year, as more than half have said insurance coverage and reimbursement issues have become more difficult, according to a new report.

The 2013 California Biomedical Industry Report — by PwC, the California Healthcare Institute and BayBio — looked at California's biotech industry and how it faired in 2012.

NEW YORK — An organization focused on inflammatory bowel disease has enlisted a star of "NYPD Blue," "Judging Amy" and "Private Practice" to raise awareness of the condition.

The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America hired actress Amy Brenneman, who has ulcerative colitis, one of two diseases that collectively make up IBD; the other is Crohn's disease. Both conditions are autoimmune diseases that cause discomfort and inflammation of the intestines and require frequent trips to the bathroom.

NEW YORK — Abbott Labs has spun off its specialty drug division into a new company called AbbVie, which the new company's leaders heralded Wednesday by ringing the first opening bell of 2013 at the New York Stock Exchange.

SAN FRANCISCO — While pressure to grow will drive more large drug makers to pursue mergers and acquisitions, diminished resources and competition from biotech and specialty pharmaceutical companies will challenge their ability to do so, according to a new report.

BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has introduced legislation that would give the state government broader power over compounding pharmacies, the governor's office announced.

WESTON, Mass. — Biogen Idec is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval for a hemophilia drug that it called the first of its kind.

The drug maker announced that it had submitted a regulatory application for recombinant factor IX Fc fusion protein, or rFIXFc, which it called the first long-lasting factor IX therapy for hemophilia B.