CVS Health is set to lay off more than 630 employees as part of a $2 billion cost-cutting initiative aimed at improving financial performance, The Boston Globe reported Oct. 7. 

Ten individuals, including five pharmaceutical distributor executives and five sales representatives and brokers, have been charged by the Department of Justice in connection with the unlawful distribution of nearly 70 million opioid pills and over 30 million doses of commonly abused prescription drugs. 

Novo Nordisk plans to invest approximately $158 million into revamping its Montes Claros manufacturing facility in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Bloomberg reported Oct. 5. 

Kroger Co. has finalized the sale of its speciality pharmacy business to Elevance Health, according to an Oct. 4 news release. 

After Baxter International temporarily closed its North Cove facility in Marion, N.C., the company told customers in an Oct. 3 email to evaluate their inventory of several saline, dextrose and Lactated Ringer's presentations. 

The shortage of tirzepatide injection has been resolved after two years of limited availability in the wake of high demand, the FDA said. 

The second cycle of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program will offer pharma companies more time and chances to submit counteroffers during the price talks, which will take place throughout 2025. 

Regulatory officials and Alzheimer's researchers expressed concern over the efficacy of Alzheimer's drug simufilam, developed by Cassava Sciences, The New York Times reported Oct. 3. 

Eli Lilly is building a $4.5 billion facility in Indiana that will combine research and production, aiming to enhance manufacturing efficiency and accelerate the development of clinical trial medicines, the drugmaker said Oct. 2. 

On Oct. 1, Louisiana became the first state to classify mifepristone and misoprostol — drugs used in medication abortion — as controlled substances. 

CVS Health is contemplating a breakup of its diversified operations after a tumultuous financial period marked by repeated forecast cuts and a significant drop in stock value, The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 1. 

Prosecutors say a network of illegal drug sellers established fake pharmacies that sold pills laced with fentanyl and methamphetamine, leading to nine deaths, The New York Times reported Sept. 30. 

Becker's asked pharmacy executives from hospitals and health systems across the U.S. to share their team's evolving roles and skills.

Dana Filmore, a grandmother from Columbus, Ohio, is among thousands of plaintiffs filing a federal lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, alleging Ozempic and Mounjaro caused gastroparesis, USA Today reported Sept. 27. 

The FDA approved selpercatinib for treatment of metastatic medullary thyroid cancer in patients 2 years and older with a RET mutation. 

If there’s a predominant trend in healthcare today, it’s that health systems are getting larger. Whether it’s the result of merger and acquisition activity or organic growth, health systems are increasingly expanding across broad geographic regions.

Biopharmaceutical company Cassava Sciences, along with founder Remi Barbier and former Senior Vice President of Neuroscience Lindsay Burns, PhD, will pay more than $40 million to settle allegations related to misleading claims about a clinical trial for its Alzheimer's disease treatment. 

The FDA has approved Cobenfy capsules from Bristol-Myers Squibb for the oral treatment of schizophrenia in adults. 

In the wake of 2023 walkouts by pharmacy workers dubbed "pharmageddon," major chains such as Walgreens and CVS are facing increased pressure from their employees to provide better working conditions and wages. 

AbbVie's tavapadon has demonstrated positive results as a monotherapy for early Parkinson's disease, according to a Sept. 26 news release from the drugmaker.