The price of the EpiPen emergency allergy medication soared by 400% to 600% over the last decade, in part due to a lack of competition. In February, the FDA rejected a potential competing injector from Teva Pharmaceuticals, but now the company says it still hopes to get an EpiPen alternative in pharmacies — at some point in the next two years. [More]
prescription
Walgreens Shoplifter Walks Out Of Store With $100K In Prescription Drugs
By 10.7.15
In the past, Walgreens has been a target for ne’er-do-wells: there were the three people caught with more than 125 stolen credit cards, and before that, the shoplifting ring accused of stealing more than $15,000 in merchandise. But those cases pale in comparison to a brazen robbery in Florida this week in which a man forced open the pharmacy department door and made off with $100,000 in prescription drugs. [More]
After FDA Warning, Kim Kardashian Posts Corrected Endorsement Of Morning Sickness Pill
By 8.31.15
Weeks after federal regulators took issue with drug company Duchesnay for allowing mom-to-be Kim Kardashian to tout the benefits of its morning sickness pill on social media without properly disclosing the drug’s associated risk and limitations, the reality star posted updated endorsements, complete with acknowledgement of the pill’s side effects. [More]
FDA: Lack Of Info In Kim Kardashian’s Endorsement Of Morning Sickness Pill Puts Consumers At Risk
By 8.11.15
While celebrities get special treatment most places they go, there is no VIP pass that allows them to endorse a prescription drug without disclosing its associated risks and limitations. So when mom-to-be Kim Kardashian used social media to sing the praises of a morning sickness pill, it raised a red flag for federal regulators. [More]
California Man Claims Costco Pharmacy Gave His Mother The Wrong Medication Twice In One Year
By 1.14.15
Receiving the wrong prescription can have devastating and irreversible effects on people, remember the man who sued CVS after he says a medication mix-up made him go blind in one eye or the teen who was given the wrong ADHD medication at Walgreens? While the latest case of medication mix-ups has a decidedly better outcome for the customer involved, the fact that the man says Costco provided the wrong pills not once, but twice makes it all the more troubling. [More]
White House: Docs Need Training Before Prescribing OxyContin & Other Painkillers
By 4.19.11
Too many doctors are writing unnecessary prescriptions for painkillers like OxyContin and fentanyl, says the White House. That’s why the administration is looking to push through legislation that would require training for physicians who wish to write prescriptions for these drugs. [More]
Walmart's Prescription Drug Couriers Arrested For Speeding, Smoking
By 4.26.09
When you think “prescription drugs,” you think of clean, sterile facilities, not three stoners driving 100 mph down I-15 with $30,000 of Walmart’s prescription narcotics in the backseat. Cops pulled the trio over, which included two illegal immigrants, and called Walmart to confirm that these were the folks employed to deliver their dirt-cheap drugs. “They said yeah they were expecting a delivery and the driver was late.”
Insurer Says, "Turn Medical Costs Into Holiday Gifts!"
By 11.5.07
Nothing says “I love you, Mom,” like some more medicine for her diabetes, or “You’re the best, Dad,” like a refill of nitro tablets. That’s why the health insurance company Highmark is offering new Healthcare Visa Gift Cards—for about $5 plus an unspecified shipping and handling fee, you can load it with anywhere from $25 to $5,000 to be used exclusively on medical expenses. After the first 9 months, the card emerges from the womb of “I already paid for this!” and starts charging you a monthly $1.50 maintenance fee. Won’t your kid be excited come Christmas morning when she finds out her staph infection is going to get treated?!
Is The "Wal-Mart Effect" Slowing Drug Inflation?
By 9.21.07
The inflation rate for prescription drugs—currently at 1 percent for the past 12 months—is at its lowest ever recorded in the past three decades, and some are speculating that Wal-Mart’s popular $4 generic drugs program is helping drive the costs down across the market.
