Specialty Pharmacy

CHICAGO — Walgreens now has certified more than 500 of its pharmacies as HIV Centers of Excellence in communities highly impacted by HIV, as identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the pharmacy operator announced Thursday at the U.S. Conference on AIDS.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Genzyme has named leaders of two units that are part of the core focus of the drug maker's business.

Bill Sibold, former chief commercial officer at Avanir Pharmaceuticals, was appointed to serve as head of the multiple sclerosis business, while Rogério Vivaldi, who most recently served as president of Genzyme’s renal and endocrinology business, now is the head of the rare diseases business.

Both Sibold and Vivaldi will report to Genzyme president and CEO David Meeker, who recently became part of the company's executive team.

BASEL, Switzerland — The Food and Drug Administration has accepted a new drug application for a skin cancer treatment developed by Roche.

Roche said that the FDA accepted its NDA for vismodegib, designed to treat advanced basal cell carcinoma in adults for whom surgery is considered inappropriate. The application was granted priorit review status and has a confirmed action date of March 8, 2012.

FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy was recognized by MichBio, a biosciences industry trade association and the official Michigan affiliate of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

STAMFORD, Conn. — Purdue Pharma has launched a new way for fighting pharmacy crime, the drug maker said Tuesday.

PHOENIX — The University of Arizona Cancer Center, in partnership with Walgreens, last month opened a specialty outpatient pharmacy on-site to meet the needs of its patients.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday launched a website for patients and caregivers on the safe disposal of needles and other “sharps” that are used at home, at work and while traveling.

ELMSFORD, N.Y. — Specialty pharmacy provider BioScrip reported $454 million in sales and $500,000 in profits in third quarter 2011, according to an earnings statement released Tuesday.

The sales figure represented a 2.9% increase over third quarter 2010's $441.2 million, while the profits compared with profits of $2 million during the same period a year ago.