The FDA has given the green light to Moderna's mRNA-based respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, specifically for older adults, the drugmaker announced May 31.

The growth and complexity of biosimilar agents for infusion therapy is generating a need for effective tools to optimize product selection and manage costs. Frequent changes in payer policies lead to frustrating delays in the authorization process and create obstacles that impact patient care.

Drugmaker Novartis filed a lawsuit May 29 against the state of Maryland over a new law that forbids manufacturers from "taking certain direct or indirect actions to limit or restrict the acquisition or delivery of a 340B drug."

Timothy Jacisin, PharmD, a senior pharmacist at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., has been selected to join a national taskforce commissioned by the group responsible for accrediting pharmacy residents. He will help expand standards that protect pharmacists who identify as LGBTQ+.

As experts predict sprawling shortages of physicians in the near future, community pharmacists are well-positioned to care for minor ailments, according to researchers at Pullman-based Washington State University. 

Sagent Pharmaceuticals issued a voluntary recall of two lots of a cancer drug because of a  "potential presence of particulate matter," the FDA said May 29. 

Amid a looming shortage of pharmacists, health system pharmacy leaders are increasing their investments in technology and leveling up roles, according to a survey of 324 pharmacy directors of general and children's hospitals. 

The FDA has approved Bkemv as the first interchangeable biosimilar to Soliris to treat certain rare diseases.

In a phase 2/3 trial investigating the efficacy of Keytruda with two chemotherapies, tumors shrank among 3 in 5 patients with pleural mesothelioma, Merck said May 29. 

New Haven, Conn.-based Yale School of Medicine and Atlanta-based Emory University researchers found a weak association between FDA drug proxies and disease outcomes — putting into question the effectiveness of using proxies in the approval process.

Johnson & Johnson plans to buy the global rights to an experimental eczema therapy for $1.25 billion in cash, the company said May 28. 

An FDA advisory committee voted 7-4 against Novo Nordisk's experimental weekly insulin shot after a study found elevated hypoglycemia risks and no additional benefits from the candidate. 

Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center recently awarded a team of researchers $300,000 to aid them in a "first-of-its-kind" drug supply chain dashboard. 

The Pharmacy Technician Society, formed in November 2023 out of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, has officially named its inaugural president, according to a May 23 announcement.

Hospira, a Pfizer company, voluntarily recalled three lots of a blood pressure medication and two lots of a pain management therapy because of a potential packaging issue. 

On May 24, an FDA advisory committee will meet to discuss the safety profile of Awiqli (insulin icodec), Novo Nordisk's long-lasting insulin, after a study showed the drug poses an increased risk of hypoglycemia to users. 

Drugmaker price hikes that have occurred in tandem with ongoing drug shortages have not only created headaches for both hospitals and providers  — but also jeopardized patient access to care, according to an analysis published May 22 by the American Hospital Association. 

In recent years, the pharmacy team at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center identified a recurring challenge with operating room inventory: after medications were stocked in the anesthesia workstations (AWS), visibility of that inventory diminished.

About a month after the number of ongoing drug shortages reached a 23-year record, more than four dozen patient advocacy groups wrote to legislators, urging them to address the shortages. 

Three judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit ruled May 21 in favor of drug manufacturers' ability to limit sales and distribution of discounted drugs in the government's 340B drug pricing program.