Today the New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy renewed Planned Parenthoods license to distribute prescription drugs. The decision comes despite a complaint brought by a New Hampshire Pro-Life Group. New Hampshire Right to Life submitted a complaint last spring claiming that Planned Parenthood of Northern New England could not dispense prescription drugs without a contract with the state. Right to Lifes attorney, Michael Tierney points out one of Planned Parenthoods contracts with the state was not approved by the Executive Council earlier this year. Tierney: There was not sufficient guarantees that they werent going to be using the taxpayers money to support their abortion business. The Board of Pharmacy voted unanimously to renew the license, which Planned Parenthood spokesperson Jennifer Frizzell says affirms that the organization is fully compliant with the law. Michael Tierney, Right to Lifes lawyer, is running for Executive Council, and state spending on Planned Parenthood has been a key issue in that race. Read more from the original source: Pharmacy Board: Planned Parenthood Can Dispense Drugs … Continue reading →

ORLANDO, October 3, 2012 - Omnicare Specialty Care Group`s specialty pharmacy, Advanced Care Scripts (ACS), has been added to the limited distribution network for Astellas` XTANDI (enzalutamide). As part of the XTANDI network, ACS will provide access and reimbursement support to physicians and patients and assist eligible patients without insurance. XTANDI (enzalutamide) capsules are approved for use in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have previously received docetaxel. ACS manages and dispenses specialty medications in multiple disease categories, including cancer, infectious diseases, auto-immune disorders, multiple sclerosis and hemophilia. Its expertise across both the specialty and long-term care channels enables it to provide comprehensive solutions for prescribers and patients. "The recent approval of XTANDI represents an important step forward to prolong the lives of patients with advanced prostate cancer who have received chemotherapy," said David Hileman, Senior Vice President of Omnicare Specialty Care Group. "We are excited to partner with Astellas to provide a new treatment option for this growing patient population for which there has been a significant unmet medical need." About Omnicare Specialty Care Group Omnicare Specialty Care Group (SCG) is a division of Omnicare, Inc., a Fortune 400 company and provider of comprehensive pharmaceutical services based in … Continue reading →

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - A Massachusetts company that produced a medical compound linked to a multi-state outbreak of a rare form of meningitis has suspended operations, according to a statement from the company. The New England Compounding Center, of Waverly, MA, released a statement Wednesday about the outbreak: "New England Compounding Center (NECC) is working closely with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy and other regulators to identify the source of infection in patients who received injections of methylprednisolone acetate. Upon notification of incidents of infection, NECC immediately initiated a voluntary recall of this product on Sept. 26. As part of this process, we have voluntarily suspended operations while we assist authorities in their investigation." There have been 18 cases reported in Tennessee and two deaths, in addition to at least eight cases and two deaths in four other states. The company sent shipments of methylprednisolone acetate, a lumbar epidural steroid medicine, to Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center in Nashville, Specialty Surgery Center in Crossville and PCA Pain Care Center in Oak Ridge. The Channel 4 I-Team has learned compounding pharmacies, such as this Massachusetts company, that make these type of drug mixtures are not … Continue reading →

By Kay Lazar and Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff A Framingham compounding pharmacy has been identified by state and federal health officials as the source of a medication being investigated as a possible cause of an unusual fungal meningitis outbreak that has sickened 26 patients in five states who received steroid injections. Four of the patients have died. The pharmacy, New England Compounding Center, recalled three lots of methylprednisolone on Sept. 26, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. Eighteen of the meningitis cases have been reported in Tennessee, and cases also have been reported in Virginia, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina. A Nashville outpatient neurosurgery clinic closed last month after patients got sick after receiving steroid injections in their backs for pain. Here is a statement released Wednesday night by the Massachusetts health department regarding the investigation: The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is collaborating with the CDC, FDA, and other state public health officials to identify the cause of an outbreak of more than 25 suspected cases of aspergillus (fungal) meningitis under investigation in Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The cause for this cluster of cases is not yet known. There are four products common to … Continue reading →