Specialty Pharmacy

WASHINGTON — EMD Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA and Pfizer announced that the Food and Drug Administration has approved Bavencio (avelumab) Injection for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy, or who have disease progression within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment with platinum-containing chemotherapy.

FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Pharmacy on Monday announced its latest acquisition. The company has acquired WRB Communications, a Chantilly, Va.-based health care service company that specializes in relationship management programs for pharmaceutical manufacturers and health care service organizations.

WRB will join Envoy Health Management as part of Diplomat’s offering of commercialization support services for manufacturers and biotech firms, among other service companies.

WASHINGTON — Executives from Celgene, Regeneron and Vertex represented the drug industry Monday during a biomedical research discussion, but drug prices, long a concern of President Donald Trump, was not discussed during the two-hour meeting, reported CNBC.

"There's all kinds of elephants, and the room is crowded with them I suppose, but that one didn't get much attention," Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told CNBC in an interview directly after the meeting.

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration approved Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America’s Radicava (edaravone) to treat patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. commenced an IPO of 9.9 million common shares at an initial public offering price of $17 per share. In addition, Biohaven has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,485,000 common shares at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on May 4 under the ticker symbol “BHVN.”

GENEVA — The World Health Organization will launch a pilot project for prequalifying biosimilar medicines this year, “a step towards making some of the most expensive treatments for cancer more widely available in low- and middle-income countries,” the organization stated.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fred’s Pharmacy reported total sales for April decreased 3% year-over-year to $159.1 million compared to $163.9 million in April 2016. However, total comparable-store sales for the month increased 1.2% compared with a 0.3% increase in comparable sales in the prior year period.

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — AmerisourceBergen has signed a new five-year pharmaceutical supply agreement with Express Scripts. The companies on Monday announced that AmerisourceBergen would be supplying pharmaceuticals to Express Scripts through Sept. 30, 2022. The previous agreement, which began in 20212, was set to expire in September.