Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
President Trump Urges U.S. Suit Against Opioid Manufacturers
Aug 17 2018 // President Donald Trump said Thursday he wants the U.S. government to sue pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioids as part of his efforts to halt an epidemic of drug addiction. Trump said he’d like to bring a...
On the Side, Express Scripts Eyes Distributing High-Priced Specialty Drugs
Aug 15 2018 // Express Scripts Holding Co. built a multi-billion enterprise pressuring drug companies to lower their prices for U.S. patients. Now it is quietly building a side business: getting paid to help drug companies dispense a new...
Opioids Blamed for 11.5% Spike in Kentucky Overdose Deaths Last Year
Aug 15 2018 // Drug overdose deaths in Kentucky are increasing despite a drop in opioid prescriptions and heroin use. A new report from the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy says 1,565 people died from drug overdoses in 2017....
Icahn Halts Bid to Block Cigna’s Takeover of Express Scripts
Aug 14 2018 // Activist investor Carl Icahn has dropped his fight to block Cigna Corp.’s $54 billion acquisition of Express Scripts Holding Co. after two prominent shareholder advisory firms came out in support of the...
2nd Chinese Manufacturer Makes Tainted, Carcinogenic Heart Drug: EU
Aug 10 2018 // The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday that a second Chinese contract manufacturer, Zhejiang Tianyu, had produced a common blood pressure and heart drug with an impurity that could cause cancer. The alarm over...
American Medical Association Claims CVS-Aetna Merger Will Hike Drug Prices
Aug 9 2018 // The American Medical Association, which represents U.S. physicians, urged the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday to stop CVS Health Corp.’s plan to buy insurance provider Aetna Inc., saying the deal could result in...
Investor Icahn to Oppose Cigna-Express Deal, Fearing Amazon Threat: Sources
Aug 2 2018 // Activist investor Carl Icahn has built a sizable stake in Cigna Corp. and plans to oppose the health insurer’s $54 billion takeover of pharmacy-benefits firm Express Scripts Holding Co., according to people familiar...
Maryland Hits Record-High Drug Deaths, Fueled by Fentanyl
Jul 31 2018 // Maryland, a state that already had one of the country’s most punishing overdose mortality rates, notched a record-high number of drug deaths last year. The grim milestone was fueled by an alarming increase of...
California Workers’ Comp Changes Helping System, Division Chief Says
Jul 27 2018 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv California’s workers’ compensation system has undergone numerous changes since the implementation of the sweeping reforms that started in 2013 with Senate Bill 863. In the last...
The Legal Engine Driving More Than 800 Lawsuits Against Opioid Makers
Jul 24 2018 // The place might sound familiar, even if you’ve never been there: the Appalachian foothills, down by the Ohio River, where the sirens scream addiction and death. Twenty-six overdoses in one afternoon. The highest...
Study Examines California Worker’s Comp Prescription Drug Outcomes Under New Formulary
Jul 20 2018 // A new analysis offers a preliminary look at Utilization Review and Independent Medical Review outcomes involving pharmaceutical requests for California injured workers since the state implemented a workers’...
Arkansas Approves Rules with Opioid Prescription Limits
Jul 20 2018 // An Arkansas panel has given final approval to regulations that will require doctors who prescribe high doses of opioid pain medication to follow guidelines meant to limit potential abuse, including exploring alternative...
Drug Firms Sue Illegal Web Sites for Opioid Crisis
Jul 20 2018 // Two pharmaceutical companies say the real culprits in the opioids epidemic are illegal dealers of the painkillers and want them to be on the hook financially for any damages potentially assessed against drugmakers. Endo...
7th Lawsuit Against Opioid Makers Filed by Kentucky AG
Jul 20 2018 // The company’s website claimed its product would “enable patients to stay in the workplace, enjoy interaction with family and friends and remain a member of society.” But Kentucky’s Attorney General...
FDA Cites Drug Warning Scam Over Online Medications
Jul 17 2018 // People who tried to order medicine online or over the phone have received fake U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning letters instead of the products they bought, in what appears to be an international extortion scam,...
Report from New York Health Officials Calls for Pot Legalization
Jul 16 2018 // Proposals to permit recreational marijuana use in New York state took a big step forward Friday when state health officials issued a long-awaited report concluding that the benefits of legalization outweigh the risks. The...
Canadian Health Insurers Reluctant to Provide Cover for Medical Marijuana
Jul 13 2018 // Sun Life Financial, Canada’s No. 2 insurer, recently started covering medical marijuana in its Canadian health insurance plan – more than 17 years after the country first legalized it. The coverage, which requires...
Amazon Plans Global Disruption of Health Care Marketplace
Jul 11 2018 // Amazon.com Inc. has global aspirations for its medical-supplies marketplace, according to a job listing posted on its website, highlighting the e-commerce giant’s sweeping ambitions to disrupt health care by selling...
How Opioids are Impacting the Kentucky Workforce
Jul 3 2018 // The pickings have gotten slimmer when Mike Bowling needs to hire someone for his convenience stores in London and Manchester, where he also has a tobacco store. “This is the hardest I’ve ever seen getting...
Supreme Court to Review Merck Drug Warning Liability Case
Jul 2 2018 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear Merck & Co.’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that revived hundreds of lawsuits accusing the company of failing to adequately warn patients of the risks of...
