Tue.May 23, 2023

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Opinion: Cancer patients shouldn’t be responsible for out-of-pocket costs

STAT

In 2023, just under 2 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer. Many will endure multiple CT and MRI studies and intensive medical care, including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy. Fortunately, advances in treatment and novel therapies have steadily improved survival following a cancer diagnosis. Cancer death rates have declined by 27% over the past 20 years.

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Probiotic Use Has Increased in Neonatal ICUs, But Further Data Are Still Needed

Pharmacy Times

In neonatal intensive care units, probiotic usage was associated with a decline in necrotizing enterocolitis, but not with sepsis or mortality rates.

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Why Purchasing In The Pharmacy Industry Is So Unique

Drug Topics

Drug Topics is joined by Wayne Boese, the VP of Sales at American Associated Pharmacies, for a conversation about purchasing in the pharmacy world, "shopping" for the best prices, and more.

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SLFN12 Expression is Found in Cells Positive for HIV Transcripts But Negative for HIV Protein

Pharmacy Times

A barrier in effectively treating HIV has been the latency of infected CD4+ T cells, which are often treatment-resistant and contribute to the persistence nature of the virus.

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Position Your Pharmacy for Expansion

Speaker: Chris Antypas and Josh Halladay

Access to limited distribution drugs and payer contracts are key to pharmacy expansion. But how do you prepare your operations to take the next step? Meaningful data: Collect and share clinical data regarding outcomes, utilization, and more Reporting: Limited distribution models require efficient tracking and reporting systems Workflows: Align workflows with specific pharma and payer contractual requirements For in-depth, expert insights on pharmacy expansion, watch this webinar from Inovalon.

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What does generative AI mean for health care? We asked the experts

STAT

Health care companies are racing to incorporate generative AI tools into their product pipelines and IT systems after the technology displayed an ability to perform many tasks faster, cheaper — and sometimes better — than humans. But the rush to harness the power of so-called large language models, which are trained on vast troves of data, is outpacing efforts to assess their value.

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Independent Rx Forum - Congressional Trends on PBM Reform

Pharmacy Times

Anne Cassity, JD, senior vice president of Public Affairs at the National Community Pharmacists Association discusses congressional and lawmaker trends on pharmacy benefits manager reform with guests, Adam Harbison and Kaite Krell.

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HIV rates decline in U.S., data show, but disparities persist

STAT

The latest accounting of HIV incidence in the United States is a mixed bag. Overall estimated new infections dropped 12% in 2021 compared to 2017, according to data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the American South — which has had a longtime HIV problem compared with other areas across the U.S. — was the only region to show a “statistically significant decline.

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Research Suggests Risk of Long COVID is Higher for Individuals in Underserved Areas

Pharmacy Times

The risk of long COVID-19 in females in the least deprived areas was comparable to the risk of males in the most deprived areas.

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STAT+: Biotech launches with $300 million, joint venture to expedite RNA drug development

STAT

Biotech venture capital may be pacing at a six-year low, but one startup just managed to raise a $300 million Series A mega-round. The round was raised by ReNAgade Therapeutics, a new biotech developing what it hopes will be a one-stop shop for medicines targeting RNA, the genetic blueprints that cells use to make proteins instrumental in numerous diseases.

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Clinical and Economic Burdens Impacting Patients with TRD

Drug Topics

Michael Edward Thase, MD, leads a discussion surrounding an array of challenges impacting patients with treatment-resistant depression.

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What the FDA's New Dosage Guidance Means for the Future of Clinical Research

Speaker: Dr. Ben Locwin - Biopharmaceutical Executive & Healthcare Futurist

What will the future hold for clinical research? A recent draft from the FDA provides valuable insight. In "Optimizing the Dosage of Human Prescription Drugs and Biological Products for the Treatment of Oncologic Diseases," the FDA notes that "targeted therapies demonstrate different dose-response relationships compared to cytotoxic chemotherapy, such that doses below the Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) may have similar efficacy to the MTD but with fewer toxicities.

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Avrobio to sell cystinosis gene therapy to Novartis for $87.5m

Pharmaceutical Technology

Avrobio has announced a deal to sell its investigational haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy programme , designed to treat cystinosis, to Novartis in an all-cash deal valued at $87.5m. Novartis will receive an exclusive licence for intellectual property related to the gene therapy platform of Avrobio for use in cystinosis and for other assets.

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‘Worse than what we thought’: New data reveals deeper problems with the Bureau of Prisons’ Covid response

STAT

WASHINGTON — The incarcerated people at Federal Medical Center Devens should have been some of the first to receive the Covid vaccines, back when they first came out in December 2020. At the time, the country was prioritizing high-risk people in high-risk settings, like older Americans in nursing homes. So Devens seemed a better candidate than most prisons for an early vaccine rollout: It’s one of just seven facilities in the country equipped to handle federal prisoners with comple

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Examining the Patient Journey in TRD

Drug Topics

The panel of experts highlight the patient journey commonly experienced in search of a treatment-resistant depression diagnosis.

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Social media risks for youth mental health highlighted in new surgeon general report

STAT

Amid what he called the worst youth mental health crisis in recent memory, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory Tuesday warning about social media’s impact on developing young brains. “Through the last two and a half years I’ve been in office, I’ve been hearing concerns from kids and parents,” Murthy told STAT.

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5 Reasons to Upgrade Your Pharmacy Management Software

Are you still using workarounds to manage your daily operations? To achieve peak performance, it's time to explore other options for specialty and infusion pharmacy software. Streamline pharmacy operations and improve clinical performance with automated processing, real-time data exchange, and electronic decision support. Download this helpful infographic to: Drive efficiency and patient adherence from referral receipt to delivery and ongoing care – all with our Pharmacy Cloud.

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Minnesota lawmakers cut nurse staffing ratios from union-backed bill due to Mayo Clinic, industry pushback

Fierce Healthcare

Minnesota lawmakers cut nurse staffing ratios from union-backed bill due to Mayo Clinic, industry pushback dmuoio Tue, 05/23/2023 - 15:14

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Opinion: Three ways to test medical AI for safety

STAT

This article is adapted from “ The AI Revolution in Medicine: GPT-4 and Beyond ,” by Peter Lee, Carey Goldberg, and Isaac Kohane, published by Pearson. “Thrashing.” That’s what old-school computer scientists called it when an operating system is running so many tasks at once that just switching among them basically crashes it.

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Nalmefene Nasal Spray for Emergency Opioid Overdose Treatment Gets FDA Approval

Drug Topics

The newly FDA-approved prescription product delivers nalmefene to the nasal cavity to reverse the effects of opioid overdose.

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STAT+: Learning to treat long COVID could help those struggling with chronic fatigue syndrome, too

STAT

CONCORD, N.H. — Veronica Dane had always been active, from playing soccer as a kid to working a demanding job as a critical care nurse. Until, one day, she just couldn’t do it anymore. She started eliminating activities and duties, whittling away the things that had once brought joy and a steady income but were now, instead, bringing unbearable physical pain.

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US FDA approves Blueprint Medicines’ indolent systemic mastocytosis therapy

Pharmaceutical Technology

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for Blueprint Medicines’ Ayvakit (avapritinib) as the first and only treatment for indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM) in adult patients. The precision therapy has been designed for potently and selectively inhibiting KIT D816V, which is the main underlying driver of the disease. It received FDA approval to treat ISM, advanced SM, including SM with an associated haematological neoplasm (SM-AHN) and mast cell leukemia (MCL), and aggr

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STAT+: Achieve Life Sciences drug helps smokers quit in trial but would face stiff competition if approved

STAT

Seattle biotech Achieve Life Sciences on Tuesday announced an experimental drug meant to help people quit smoking did exactly that in a clinical trial, paving the way for the company to seek approval for a product that would face stiff competition. In the study, dubbed ORCA-3, participants took either the smoking cessation drug cytisinicline or a placebo pill three times a day for six or 12 weeks.

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Is it safe to mix Wellbutrin and caffeine?

The Checkup by Singlecare

Wellbutrin ( bupropion ) is a prescription antidepressant medication. Though most commonly prescribed to treat depression, it is sometimes prescribed off-label for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or (the 12-hour extended-release form) smoking cessation. If you or someone you know is taking Wellbutrin, the underlying condition—depression or ADHD —might already cause sleep problems.

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ChatGPT in medicine: STAT answers readers’ burning questions about AI

STAT

Artificial intelligence is often described as a black box: an unknowable, mysterious force that operates inside the critical world of health care. If it’s hard for experts to wrap their heads around at times, it’s almost impossible for patients or the general public to grasp. While AI-powered tools like ChatGPT are swiftly gaining steam in medicine, patients rarely have any say — or even any insight — into how these powerful technologies are being used in th

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Croda Pharma and BSI partner for vaccine adjuvant QS-21 production

Pharmaceutical Technology

Croda Pharma has entered a strategic collaboration deal with Botanical Solution Inc (BSI) to expedite the production of sustainable pharmaceutical-grade vaccine adjuvant QS-21. QS-21 is a potent component of adjuvant systems used in vaccines for diseases such as RSV, malaria and shingles, as well as in new vaccines and immunotherapy treatments such as cancer.

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STAT+: Congress highlighted a chemo drug’s price to blast PBMs — but it’s not a PBM issue

STAT

WASHINGTON — Congress blasted drug middlemen at a hearing Tuesday, with multiple lawmakers pointing to a huge discrepancy between how much a chemo drug costs at CVS and its price from Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs. There’s just one problem: PBMs don’t have anything to do with that discrepancy. The chemo drug in question, Imatinib, costs $17,000 at CVS and just $72 at Cost Plus Drugs.

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FDA Panel Recommends RSV Vaccine to Protect Newborn Infants

Pharmacy Times

The FDA’s final decision is expected by a Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date in August 2023.

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FDA budget battles, prisons’ sobering Covid response & BIO’s CEO search is on

STAT

You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis. Sign up here to receive this newsletter in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. House committee sets up for budget fight UPDATE: Late on Monday night, House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger indefinitely postponed markup of this FDA budget bill, citing the ongoing debt ceiling talks.

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The power of genetics — how research into gene sequencing could revolutionize biopharma

PharmaVoice

Ancient DNA from a deer tooth. A new way to connect genes with disease. Biological super-computing. These genetic advances could play a part in our biopharma future.

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STAT+: Pharmalittle: Pfizer and Novo disclose upbeat data on oral weight loss drugs; PBM trade group blasts House committee over hearing

STAT

Rise and shine, another busy day is on the way. We can tell because the official mascot and his stay-over playmate are furiously bounding about the Pharmalot grounds and the rumble of vehicles passing outside our window is growing noisier. But this is to be expected. So we will pursue the usual routine and trot down to the Pharmalot cafeteria for a cup of stimulation.

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Walgreens asks federal court to toss 'staggering' $642M arbitration award to Humana

Fierce Healthcare

Walgreens asks federal court to toss 'staggering' $642M arbitration award to Humana hlandi Tue, 05/23/2023 - 16:17

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A deep dive on generative AI in health care, Pear sold for parts, and progress on stretchable skin

STAT

You’re reading the web edition of STAT Health Tech, our guide to how tech is transforming the life sciences.  Sign up to get this newsletter  delivered in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.

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CMS proposed rule aims to shed light on prescription drug costs for Medicaid

Fierce Healthcare

CMS proposed rule aims to shed light on prescription drug costs for Medicaid hlandi Tue, 05/23/2023 - 23:18

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Machine learning can predict outcomes for inkjet printed pharmaceuticals

European Pharmaceutical Review

Using inkjet printing, optimised machine learning (ML) models predicted the printability of drug formulations with an accuracy of 97.22 percent, a paper published in International Journal of Pharmaceutics: X has shown. Inkjet printing makes formulation and printing parameter optimisation time-consuming. This is especially true for additive manufacturing and the production of unique dosage forms and personalised medicines.

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Amid high-profile injectable launch, Novo Nordisk scores with its pill version of obesity drug Wegovy

Fierce Pharma

Amid high-profile injectable launch, Novo Nordisk scores with its pill version of obesity drug Wegovy kdunleavy Tue, 05/23/2023 - 10:34

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Survey: 58% of Americans likely to first seek non-emergency health care at pharmacies

Drug Store News

Some 81% say they trust a pharmacist, nurse or nurse practitioner to diagnose minor illnesses and prescribe medications to treat them.

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