June, 2023

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ICYMI: PBM exec admits choosing profits over patients

PhRMA

With Congress discussing policy changes that would lower drug costs for patients and rein in powerful middlemen, insurers and their PBMs are dusting off their old playbook and once again threatening to increase costs for employers if required to do their job and actually provide meaningful coverage to patients. But recent remarks by one executive make clear that the PBM industry has a choice: protect its profits or lower costs for patients.

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Pharmacists Will Play Critical Role in Helping Patients Navigate Digital Therapeutics

Drug Topics

With the rise of prescription digital therapeutics, pharmacists will need to prepare to manage the new paradigms of care.

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Trending Sources

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Why Choose a Career in Community Pharmacy?

Pharmacy Times

It’s imperative to redefine the future of pharmacy to help ensure a robust pipeline of future pharmacists and create a culture that helps ensure pharmacists live their purpose and passion.

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STAT+: Grail faces uphill battle to get Medicare to cover its cancer screening test

STAT

WASHINGTON — Grail is aggressively lobbying to get Medicare to pay for its cancer-screening test Galleri — but experts tell STAT that the company has a far more complicated path to that end than the makers of most medicines or medical devices. Grail’s controversial blood test Galleri screens for multiple cancers. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved it, so Medicare hasn’t had to make a decision on whether to cover it or not.

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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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WHO grants emergency use listing to SK bioscience’s SKYCovione

Pharmaceutical Technology

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has granted an emergency use listing (EUL) to SK bioscience’s Covid-19 vaccine, SKYCovione. SKYCovione is a self-assembled nanoparticle vaccine and the 12th Covid-19 vaccine to receive a EUL from the regulator. Developed using pharmaceutical company GSK’s pandemic adjuvant, the vaccine targets the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

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Not covering emerging Alzheimer's drugs could cost Medicare billions: study

Fierce Healthcare

Emerging Alzheimer’s disease medications come with high price tags, but researchers with the University of Chicago calculate that in the long run, it’s much less costly to cover these therapies for | Emerging Alzheimer’s medications come with high price tags, but researchers with the University of Chicago calculate that in the long run, it’s much less costly to cover these therapies for Medicare beneficiaries.

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The Changing Landscape of Digital Health

Drug Topics

What does the future of digital health look like?

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FDA Approves MDMA for Clinical Trial Use Investigating Schizophrenia

Pharmacy Times

The study will assess the use of the drug to treat impaired social motivation, or asociality, which is a difficult-to-treat symptom of schizophrenia that can cause significant functional impairment.

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STAT+: Two type 1 diabetes patients now freed from insulin shots with cell therapy, Vertex reports

STAT

Vertex Pharmaceuticals said Friday that, over a year after receiving the company’s stem-cell therapy, two type 1 diabetes patients no longer need to take insulin injections and saw stark reductions in a biological marker of disease.  The results, presented at the American Diabetes Association conference in San Diego, bolstered experts’ hopes that the treatment could provide a functional cure for some patients.

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First adult anti-inflammatory cardiovascular drug approved

European Pharmaceutical Review

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved LODOCO ® , the “first drug to target cardiovascular inflammation,” reported Dr Paul Ridker, MPH, Professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. It is the first anti-inflammatory cardiovascular treatment demonstrated to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, coronary revascularization, and cardiovascular death in adults with establ

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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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Pharma giant Bayer moves deeper into digital health with new business unit

Fierce Healthcare

Pharma giant Bayer is launching a precision health unit as it ramps up its investment in consumer-facing digital health tools. | Pharma giant Bayer is launching a precision health unit as it ramps up its investment in consumer-facing digital health tools.

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BioNTech to defend itself against COVID-19 vaccine injury claim in Germany

Fierce Pharma

Two years after the initial COVID-19 vaccine push swept across the globe, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine partner BioNTech is heading to court in its home country of Germany to defend itself against alle | The drugmaker will defend itself against claims from a German healthcare worker who sued the company for at least 150,000 euros ($161,500). The plaintiff alleges she suffered bodily harm resulting from Pfizer and BioNTech's Comirnaty vaccine.

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Alkeus raises funds to launch Stargardt disease therapy gildeuretinol

Pharmaceutical Technology

Alkeus Pharmaceuticals has raised $150m in Series B financing to support the registration and launch of gildeuretinol (ALK-001) to treat Stargardt disease, a genetic cause of blindness in children and young adults. Led by Bain Capital Life Sciences, the financing round has also seen participation from Sofinnova Investments, TCGX and Wellington Management.

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COVID-19 Infection Could Be Detected in Lungs, Heart, Causing Inflammatory Damage

Pharmacy Times

Investigators found thinner ventricular walls, disorganized and ruptured myocardial fiber, mild inflammatory infiltration, and mild epicardia or interstitial fibrosis in the hearts of mice infected with COVID-19.

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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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Opinion: Peter Hotez is not alone: Online harassment of doctors is a public health issue

STAT

Father’s Day weekend was anything but calm on Twitter, which erupted as vaccine expert Peter Hotez was challenged online to a debate by podcaster and former reality TV host Joe Rogan. Rogan’s challenge began when Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine and vaccine expert, tweeted his  concern about Rogan’s three-hour interview with longtime anti-vaccine activist  and presidential candidate Robert F.

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Black Seed Oil and Hashimoto’s

The Thyroid Pharmacist

Over the past few years, my mission to help people recover from Hashimoto’s has become increasingly focused on using food as medicine (or food pharmacology) to address many of the root causes and symptoms of thyroid conditions. In addition to incorporating healing foods into my diet, I’ve also discovered many herbs and spices that can have profound benefits for healing.

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Medicare to broaden coverage of Alzheimer’s drugs after full FDA approval, but with some restrictions

Fierce Healthcare

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services outlined plans Thursday to broadly cover a new class of Alzheimer’s drugs once the medications get full approval from the Food and Drug Administration | CMS outlined plans Thursday to broadly cover a new class of Alzheimer’s drugs once the medications get full approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

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AbbVie's Imbruvica-Brukinsa patent suit may have merit, and BeiGene will likely settle: expert

Fierce Pharma

AbbVie recently filed a patent infring | AbbVie recently filed a patent infringement lawsuit against BeiGene over their blockbuster BTK franchises. Although the litigation was launched right after a patent’s issuance, AbbVie may actually have a case here, according to one expert.

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Cybersecurity in pharma: Securing the future

Pharmaceutical Technology

Earlier this year, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries , one of India’s largest generic drug producers, reported a major cybersecurity breach , impacting its business operations. A ransomware group later claimed responsibility for the incident, which was one of several high-profile cybersecurity breaches in India over the past three years. Pharma companies around the world have also faced similar threats , some of which have impacted national security and public health.

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FDA, Novo Nordisk Warn of Counterfeit Semaglutide Injection Pens

Pharmacy Times

A counterfeit medication was reportedly purchased at a retail pharmacy, appearing to have contained another type of diabetes medication that led to an adverse reaction.

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‘The drug bust paradox’: Study shows opioid deaths double after police action

STAT

Police drug busts are strongly associated with a large and sudden spike in overdose deaths, according to a new study. In the week following a major opioid bust, fatal overdoses in the same neighborhood in Indianapolis doubled, the analysis showed. Calls to 911 and the use of naloxone , the overdose-reversal medication, also spiked.

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In Depth Focus QA/QC Microbiology/RMM 2023

European Pharmaceutical Review

A collaborative approach to advancing adoption of RMMs EPR ’s Caroline Peachey explores collaborative efforts to accelerate validation and adoption of rapid microbial methods across the pharmaceutical industry. The power of rapid methods for fungal ID By leveraging rapid identification techniques, pharmaceutical facilities can enhance their ability to detect and mitigate fungal contamination, safeguarding product quality and patient safety.

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Physician-owned hospitals' negotiated, cash prices lower than nearby facilities, study finds

Fierce Healthcare

Physician-owned general acute care hospitals charge less than other non-physician-owned facilities in their region for several common shoppable care services, according to a new analysis published | A new analysis of competing hospitals' published prices adds fuel to the debate over whether Congress should lift the Affordable Care Act's ban on new physician-owned hospitals.

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Intercept restructures as Ocaliva's NASH hopes dashed again with FDA rejection

Fierce Pharma

Even after second application attempt, Intercept’s Ocaliva wasn’t the fatty liver disease breakthrough that the company had hoped it would be. | Even after second application attempt, Intercept’s Ocaliva wasn’t the fatty liver disease breakthrough that the company had hoped it would be. Intercept is now swinging into restructuring mode, and the NASH baton passes on to Madrigal Pharma.

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China grants EUA to Covid-19 vaccine against XBB descendent lineages

Pharmaceutical Technology

WestVac Biopharma has announced that the Chinese authorities have granted emergency use authorisation (EUA) for coviccine trivalent XBB.1.5-recombinant Covid-19 trivalent (XBB.1.5+BA.5+delta) protein vaccine (Sf9 cell). This marks the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine approved for emergency use against XBB descendent lineages of SARS-CoV-2. The vaccine has been developed by WestVac Biopharma along with the West China Medical Center and Sichuan University.

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Liso-Cel Produces Deep, Durable Responses in Patients with Hard-to-Treat Lymphomas

Pharmacy Times

Treatment with lisocabtagene maraleucel led to strong and durable response rates with little serious adverse effects in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma.

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How abortion access changed in the first year after Roe v. Wade, in 8 charts

STAT

One year ago, the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in a landmark decision that would fundamentally change abortion access in America. Perhaps one of the most dramatic signs of that shift is in the patchwork legal landscape that has emerged as states have enacted laws banning or restricting abortions.

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CandyRific releases Disney100 limited-edition dispensers, candy cases

Drug Store News

The Disney100 Collectible candy dispensers and Disney Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse gift set will be ready for shipping in late summer/early fall.

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The latest generative AI efforts in healthcare: Carbon Health, Tempus launch tools for docs

Fierce Healthcare

Advancements around large language models and generative AI in healthcare are ramping up quickly and it's challenging to keep up with the evolving news. | Carbon Health debuted hands-free charting — an AI-enabled notes assistant — in its proprietary EHR across each of its clinics and providers while Tempus rolled out an AI-enabled clinical assistant for oncologists.

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Bayer needs 'midsize acquisition' to reach $10B oncology sales goal, exec says

Fierce Pharma

Bayer recently laid out its ambition | Bayer recently laid out its ambition to achieve $10 billion in sales from its oncology business by 2030 and become a top 10 cancer drug player. To get there, the company is looking outside for a “midsize acquisition,” Bayer’s oncology chief Christine Roth said.

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Health Canada approves Endo’s anti-seizure pills

Pharmaceutical Technology

Health Canada has approved Endo International’s Xcopri as adjunctive therapy in the management of partial-onset seizures in adults with epilepsy.

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Common Antibiotics Associated with C. difficile Infection Include Piperacillin, Meropenem

Pharmacy Times

Antibiotics that were found to be most commonly associated with clostridium difficile infection are piperacillin/tazobactam, meropenem, vancomycin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and levofloxacin, according to a recent study.

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STAT+: Coherus works with Mark Cuban to sell biosimilar Humira at steep discounts

STAT

In a bold move, Coherus BioSciences plans to sell a biosimilar version of Humira — one of the world’s best-selling medicines — at a steep discount, and will work with Mark Cuban’s generic drug company to make the medicine available directly to consumers for even less. Specifically, the Coherus medicine will carry a $995 list price for a carton of two autoinjectors, an 85% discount from the $6,922 that AbbVie charges for Humira, which is used to treat rheumatoid arthri

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AI has secured a footing in drug discovery. Where does it go from here?

PharmaVoice

The AI revolution is bringing a new era of drug discovery, and the potential for more uses is greater and faster than ever before.

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