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Pharmacy tech exam accredited by NCCA

ST. CHARLES, Mo. The Exam for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians, which is given by The Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians, has been granted accreditation by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.

The NCCA grants accreditation to a select group of organizations that demonstrate compliance with the NCCA Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs. The accreditation process includes a comprehensive and independent expert analysis of the certification program against the highest industry standards.

Rebecca Rabbitt, ICPT’s chief executive officer said, “We are pleased with this recent decision. As more states adopt certification requirements, the ExCPT will be a valuable alternative for those wanting on demand testing over 300 days a year. We are especially pleased to have achieved this goal so early in our tenure.”

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, in a letter to all the state Boards of Pharmacy, spoke about the value of NCCA accreditation by noting it as a set of objective, third-party standards that are widely accepted and highly regarded in the certification industry.

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Major drug companies agree to six-month moratorium on DTC ads

WASHINGTON Under pressure from some of the top members of the House of Representatives, top drug companies, including Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, are agreeing on a six-month moratorium on advertising new drugs to consumers and will limit how doctors are used in their ads, according to reports.

The changes were unveiled in letters the manufacturers sent the House Energy and Commerce Committee responding to a request from committee chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., and Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who head the committee’s oversight and investigations panel.

Dingell and Stupak had wanted the companies to impose a two-year voluntary moratorium on advertising of new prescription drugs to consumers – and possibly even longer in the case of drugs for which not all studies have been completed. The lawmakers also asked the drug companies to limit the use of doctors in their advertising and agree to “black box” warnings on ads if the Food and Drug Administration requested them.

In the letters, executives of J&J, Merck, Merck/Schering-Plough and Pfizer agreed to take several steps, while the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America agreed to hold further meetings with the committee. The companies will start following the American Medical Association’s guidelines about using actors to portray doctors, and at least one marketer, J&J, said it would not use doctors in ads to discuss the benefits of a drug.

The drug companies said in their letters that the six-month moratorium formalized industry practice, which is to educate doctors before moving to consumer communications. “We drugs [that] requires that our operating companies spend at least six months after approval have adopted internal guiding practices on direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription of a new medicine educating health professionals before commencing a direct-to-consumer advertising campaign,” wrote William Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of J&J. He added that the company “does not believe a particular fixed period of time for an advertising moratorium is appropriate in all circumstances.”

Dingell and Stupak said they were pleased with the response, but wanted the drug companies to go further, with a two-year limit.

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FDA grants Mylan approval for generic Avalide application

PITTSBURGH The Food and Drug Administration has granted tentative approval to Mylan Pharmaceuticals for its application for a generic version of Sanofi Aventis’ Avalide Tablets.

The tablets, generically known as irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide, are used to treat hypertension. The application is among the 92 that Mylan has submitted to the FDA for approval.

Avalide had U.S. sales of about $288 million for the 12 months ended March 31, according to IMS Health.