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[ad_1] A variety of generic pills and capsules.  Nenov | Moment | Getty Images The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday said it is examining the role that drug wholesalers and companies that purchase medicines for U.S. health-care providers play in shortages of generic drugs, which account for the majority of Americans' prescriptions. The move follows an unprecedented shortfall of crucial medicine ranging from injectable cancer therapies to generics, or cheaper versions of brand-name medicines, over the last year, which has forced hospitals and patients to ration drugs. Problems from manufacturing quality control to demand surges can drive supply issues. But the Biden administration is zeroing in on other players in the drug supply chain to uncover the "root causes and potential solutions" to ongoing shortages.  In a joint request for information, the FTC and the Department of Health and Human Services are seeking public comment on the contracting practices, m

[ad_1] Federal authorities charged a former Pfizer employee and his close friend Thursday with illegally trading shares based on non-public trial results on the pharmaceutical company's Covid antiviral pill Paxlovid . The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission both announced respective insider trading charges against Amit Dagar , a former senior statistical programming lead at Pfizer, and his friend Atul Bhiwapurkar. Dagar, who helped manage and analyze Paxlovid clinical trial data, and Bhiwapurkar "participated in an insider trading scheme to reap illicit profits from options trading based on inside information" about the then-unreleased Paxlovid results in November 2021, according to the DOJ. The two individuals sold their Pfizer call options at "significant profits" totaling more than $350,000, the DOJ said in a release . "The charges in this case relate to the personal conduct of a former Pfizer employee in violation of