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Indiana University has received the go-ahead to begin the accreditation process for new schools of public health proposed for its Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses, according to the Associated Press. University officials said the step by the independent Council on Education for Public Health kicks off an expected two-year process to create schools of public health on IU's two largest campuses.  The school on the Bloomington campus will focus on rural communities. The Indianapolis school will focus on urban health and health policy, as well as on collaborative work with the IU School of Medicine.

An antipsychotic drug that Eli Lilly and Co. hoped would be an improved replacement for Zyprexa failed in a late-stage study that compared patients taking the drug to those taking a placebo. The drug, known as pomaglumetad methionil, or mGlu 2/3, showed no difference versus a placebo. A control group of patients taking another drug, risperidone, which goes by the brand name Risperdal, did show a difference. Despite the failure, Lilly said it would continue to conduct two other clinical trials of the drug. Lilly is studying pomaglumetad methionil to see whether it can work as an antipsychotic without side effects like weight gain that come with current treatments. Zyprexa, which reached peak annual sales of $5 billion, lost its U.S. and European patent protection last fall.

A chain of dental offices that abruptly closed multiple Indiana locations in December 2010 left patients without care, refunds or records, according to a complaint filed by the Office of the Indiana Attorney General. Attorney General Greg Zoeller has filed a complaint against Allcare Dental & Dentures, which closed offices in Anderson, Avon, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Mishawaka and Muncie. The complaint alleges multiple licensing violations against company President Robert Bates. The complaint says Allcare failed to reimburse patients who paid upfront for services that weren’t completed; failed to complete dental procedures in progress; didn’t provide dentures that were fabricated; and locked dentists out of their offices, rendering them unable to notify patients or transfer patient records as the law requires. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio and West Virginia also have taken actions against Bates’ dental licenses for similar violations. Bates has settled or been party to consent agreements with licensing boards of each of those states, according to the AG’s complaint. The Indiana State Board of Dentistry is scheduled to conduct a hearing on the complaint Oct. 5.

After six months of denying coverage for a $350 genetic test for each of three Indiana children, Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc. reversed itself and will now pay for the tests, according to Bloomberg News. The father of the three children, Matthew Christman, has an inherited heart disease that often strikes without warning. Since December, WellPoint’s Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield unit had denied paying for the test, saying it was “experimental” and “not medically necessary,” according to Bloomberg. The test is made by New Jersey-based Bio-Reference Labs Inc.