For the week of May 5:

Wal-Mart plans to expand its low-cost generic drug program, the retail giant said May 5. As part of the third phase, the program will offer $10, 90-day prescriptions for 350 types of medicine.

It also added medications that treat osteoporosis, breast cancer, menopause, and hormone deficiency to the women’s health plan, which launched in September, and $4 OTC medicines such as the generic versions of Zantax, Pepcid, and Claritin.

The program is available in every state except North Dakota since it began in 2006, a move that many Wal-Mart competitors have followed. Wal-Mart officials said that as of April 28, its customers have saved $1 billion.

Also:

Senator John McCain continued to discuss his healthcare plan, including tax implications for some workers despite a promise to not raise taxes.

J&J got some backlash after inviting a group of influential mom bloggers to a retreat that banned children. The Star-Ledger called it a “characteristic misstep for the marketing savvy company.”

For the week of April 28:

A new report proposes a ban on gifts and other freebies to doctors, staff, and students from drug and medical device companies.

Although the report, which was published by the Association of American Medical Colleges, mainly targets its 139 medical schools, the shift could impact the medical field in general, according to The New York Times’ story, which notes that drug companies spend more money wooing doctors than on research and consumer advertising.

The ban would include everything from free food and travel to participating in industry-sponsored speakers’ bureaus.

Also:

The Lasik industry recently came under fire. First, The New York Times reported that the number of Lasik procedures is down because of recession woes; and then the FDA said it plans to conduct a national study examining the side effects of the popular procedure.

GE Healthcare, a $17 billion unit of General Electric, continues its expansion into life sciences with the acquisition of Whatman, a supplier of filtration products and other technologies.

Jaimy Lee joins PRWeek from the San Diego Business Journal, where she covered healthcare, energy, and education. Prior to the Business Journal, she spent two years writing for Copley Press in San Diego County. You can reach her at jaimy.lee@prweek.com. She will soon begin helming The Pulse blog.

We are currently looking for pitches for our upcoming healthcare feature (as well as reconnect with contacts). If you have a pitch, please contact Erica.Iacono@prweek.com.

Marc Longpre has left PRWeek, so the updates have ceased a bit. We plan to have someone helming this blog soon, but I will try to keep bringing the healthcare PR news in the interim. Please be patient.

Week of March 24:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is in hot water this morning after a Washington Post story shows the NIH waited almost a month to notify patients that data containing sensitive information was stolen. The breach is yet another communications debacle for a federal agency that didn’t handle it properly when it had the chance. From the Post:

NIH officials made no public comment about the theft and did not send letters notifying the affected patients of the breach until last Thursday — almost a month later. They said they hesitated because of concerns that they would provoke undue alarm.

Also:

It may be dangerous politically, but Rep. Barney Frank is jumping into the medical marijuana issue again.

The world’s first microchip designed to detect avian flu is out.

The FDA is now confirming it has identified the contaminate in heparin as over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate. A rather effective and timely response from the agency considering the circumstances (see my post from this morning). According to the Wall Street Journal piece:

The FDA has also initiated testing of imported heparin entering this country and Ms. Woodcock said the agency feels “doctors and patients now can be confident that the product on the market has been tested and is safe.”

While the FDA remains (mostly) mum on the heparin crisis, it seems scientists are close to finding the problem. The New York Times today reports that the contaminant is over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate, a supplement normally used to treat joint pain but was likely altered to act like heparin. There have been hundreds of allergic reactions to the blood thinner in the United States, and 19 deaths.

Baxter announced its voluntary recall of the blood thinner in February, and scientists who have examined the batches told the Times they suspect the “heparin-like molecule was intentionally mixed into the drug.” With the FDA again faced with questions about how well it’s equipped to protect the population from a tainted drug supply, communicators are left answering questions about a beleaguered government entity that badly needs to be given its teeth. Still, they’re doing their best to let reporters know what’s going on:

The FDA has said it has the world’s top heparin chemists working on the contaminant at two FDA laboratories, three American universities and several European academic institutions. There are more than a dozen scientists working to identify the contaminant, or contaminants, an F.D.A. spokeswoman said.

For the week of March 17:

Focus this morning is on the Dow average and the Bear Stearns-triggered Wall Street fiasco, but the New York Times points out that the FDA is once again coming under intense scrutiny. This time it’s all over heparin, which is manufactured in China and has caused 19 deaths in the US. Congress is investigating, of course, and you have to wonder how battered the FDA is after what has been a very difficult year.

“This heparin problem has happened before with other drugs,” said William Hubbard, a former FDA deputy commissioner, “and it’s going to keep happening until Congress fixes this problem.”

Also:

The Los Angeles Times takes a look at generics vs the brand name drugs they try to copy. Are they inferior drugs? And on a related note, two Congressman have finally created a path for biotech generics…but would extend the patents by 14 years.

And five years after SARS officials in Hong Kong debate how to communicate health scares. This time around, they veer toward the safe approach.

Ooops! The FDA had to issue a correction today after its Web site said the agency had approved a generic version of Johnson & Johnson’s mental health drug Risperdal. Only problem was it didn’t! It’s not every day the FDA has to make a correction like this, but if nothing else they’ve probably given the folks over at J&J a wake up call. Look out guys, generics are coming.