Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos was told of the “hard reality” of getting pharmaceutical companies to lower their drug prices before he urged an independent federal agency to pause the discussion in favour of more consultation, a 2021 memo shows. “After five years, myriad policy proposals and many hundreds of hours of consultation, it would appear…

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos was told of the “hard reality” of getting pharmaceutical companies to lower their drug prices before he urged an independent federal agency to pause the discussion in favour of more consultation, a 2021 memo shows. “After five years, myriad policy proposals and many hundreds of hours of consultation, it would appear…

While pharmacy giant Walgreens recently indicated that it plans to obtain certification to sell the abortion medication Mifepristone in its stores across the United States, the company sent a letter to Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach on Friday confirming that it has no plans to dispense the abortion pill in Kansas. The AG had written to…

Empire Co. Ltd. remained tight-lipped Tuesday about computer system issues that are still impeding customers seeking prescriptions at some pharmacies it operates. The Nova Scotia-based company issued a brief statement Monday confirming that an “IT systems issue” affecting certain pharmacies has caused “technical difficulties” in filling prescriptions. Issues at Empire-operated pharmacies, including Sobeyspharmacies and Lawtons…

Pharmacy operators CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens must pay a combined $650.6 million to two Ohio counties to address the damage done by the opioid epidemic, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The order by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland marks the first time pharmacy chains have been ordered to pay money in an opioid…

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and AbbVie’s Allergan unit on Tuesday reached a $58 million settlement with the city of San Francisco just before completion of a trial over claims that they fueled an opioid epidemic in the city. Under the deal announced by City Attorney David Chiu, Israel-based Teva will pay $25 million in cash and…

Squeezed by staffing shortages, declining reimbursement rates, and industry consolidation, community pharmacies across the nation are being shuttered at an alarming rate, sending patients scrambling to fill prescriptions while pharmacists experience dangerous burnout. In 2019 there were 21,683 community pharmacies operating primarily in smaller markets across the United States, according to the National Community Pharmacists…

TULSA, Okla.—State and federal authorities announced Thursday that they arrested and charged more than two dozen people for taking part in a multistate shoplifting ring that made off with more than $10 million in stolen goods over the past few years, most of which was over-the-counter medications. U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson in Tulsa and Oklahoma…

Three of the nation’s largest chain pharmacies, CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, contributed to an opioid crisis in two Ohio counties, a federal jury found on Tuesday. The three pharmacy chains sold and dispensed large quantities of the pain pills in Lake and Trumbull counties, and in doing so, helped fuel an opioid crisis, the jury…

MANCHESTER, Iowa—Since the pandemic hit in March, the workload has greatly increased for the pharmacists and technicians at Brehme Drug in Manchester, a rural town of some 5,000 people in eastern Iowa. “They call you up and say, ‘Help! Explain this to me,’” pharmacist Cathy Lilienthal told The Epoch Times. She has worked at the…