Walgreens is set to close 500 stores in 33 states as part of the drugstore chain's plans to shutter 1,200 locations in the coming years as major retailers across the U.S. face a crisis.
Johnson & Johnson has laid out plans to raise U.S. investments by 25% to more than $55 billion over the next four years, as a threat of drug import duties by the Trump administration compels companies to expand their manufacturing operations domestically. The pharmaceutical giant plans to build four new plants as part of its investment, one of which would be set up in Wilson, North Carolina, where it officially broke ground earlier in the day. J&J did not disclose where it plans to build the other plants.
The FDA has found problems at an Indian factory that makes generic drugs for American patients, including one medication that was manufactured there and has been linked to at least eight deaths, federal records show. The agency inspected the factory after a ProPublica investigation in December found that the plant, operated by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, was responsible for an outsized share of recalls for pills that didn't dissolve properly and could harm people.
Purdue Pharma asked a bankruptcy judge late Tuesday to consider the latest version of its plan to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin, a deal that would have members of the Sackler family who own the company pay up to $7 billion. The filing is a milestone in a tumultuous legal saga that has gone on for more than five years.
Thousands of employees returned to the FDA's headquarters Monday to find overflowing parking lots, long security lines and makeshift office spaces without chairs and other basic supplies. The FDA is the latest agency scrambling to meet the Trump administration's return-to-office mandate, part of a flurry of actions — including firings and buyouts — intended to radically shrink the federal workforce. Monday was the first day that all rank-and-file FDA staffers were required to report to offices, including the agency's 130-acre campus just outside Washington.
The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 259, with 36 cases reported over the last three days, according to new data released Friday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown. Two cases have occurred in persons vaccinated with two doses, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Breakthrough infections, when a vaccinated person is infected are rare, as the measles vaccine provides up to 97% protection after 2 doses.