Sat.May 13, 2023 - Fri.May 19, 2023

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Avoid These Independent Pharmacy Marketing Pitfalls

Drug Topics

Marketing costs money, so be sure to spend wisely.

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PBMs Face Criticism From Many Angles

Drug Topics

The National Community Pharmacists Association now has plenty of allies in its fight with the pharmacy benefit managers.

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There Are Food, Drug Interactions Older Adults Should Be Aware Of As They Age

Pharmacy Times

Good practice for older adults is that calories should go down while nutrient intake goes up as they age.

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‘Stunning’ change to United’s colonoscopy coverage roils physicians and patients

STAT

When gastroenterologists learned in March that UnitedHealthcare plans to barricade many colonoscopies behind a controversial and complicated process known as prior authorization, their emotions cycled rapidly between fear, shock, and outrage. The change, which the health insurer will implement on June 1, means that any United member seeking surveillance and diagnostic colonoscopies to detect cancer will first need approval from United — or else have to pay out of pocket.

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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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US FDA approves Bausch + Lomb and Novaliq’s DED treatment Miebo

Pharmaceutical Technology

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval to Bausch + Lomb and Novaliq’s Miebo (perfluorohexyloctane ophthalmic solution) to treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease (DED). Formerly known as NOV03, Miebo is a first-in-class eye drop designed for preventing the evaporation of excessive tears and restoring tear balance in evaporative DED patients.

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Are We Close To A Universal Flu Vaccine?

Drug Topics

Seasonal influenza kills hundreds of thousands of people every year due to a constantly changing virus and highly inefficient vaccine production. A universal flu vaccine could deal with the first problem, and mRNA technology with the second.

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Depression hits new high among Americans, per survey

STAT

WASHINGTON — More than a quarter of American adults are depressed, a 10% surge from nearly a decade ago, according to the latest Gallup survey. The data come as the Biden administration tries to overhaul mental health care costs and boost the number of health care workers licensed to practice behavioral health care. Congress in this year’s budget also allotted hundreds of millions of dollars to mental health care grants and programs, many of them trained on children or substance mi

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Krystal's Vyjuvek becomes first topical gene therapy with FDA nod to treat rare skin disease

Fierce Pharma

Krystal's Vyjuvek becomes first topical gene therapy with FDA nod to treat rare skin disease zbecker Fri, 05/19/2023 - 16:25

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Medical Cannabis Associated With Improvements in Health-Related Quality of Life

Drug Topics

Balanced products showed greater improvements compared to either CBD-dominant or THC-dominant products.

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Novavax’s COVID-Influenza Combination Vaccine Demonstrates Reassuring Preliminary Safety Profile

Pharmacy Times

Investigators of the phase 2 study also found a comparable reactogenicity to the individual influenza and COVID-19 vaccines from Novavax or authorized vaccine comparators.

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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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STAT+: In its first tough test, CRISPR epigenome editing cuts cholesterol levels in monkeys

STAT

A defanged form of CRISPR, which doesn’t slice or nick DNA, but rather alters the epigenome — the layers of chemical coding that sit on top of DNA and control the activity of genes — has aced its first substantive test. When researchers used CRISPR “ epigenome editing ” to dial down a cholesterol-associated gene in monkeys, the animals’ blood levels of heart-disease-causing LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, plummeted by more than 50%, Jennifer Kwo

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Kaiser Permanente discloses timeline, financial commitments for its VBC megadeal with Geisinger Health

Fierce Healthcare

Kaiser Permanente discloses timeline, financial commitments for its VBC megadeal with Geisinger Health dmuoio Tue, 05/16/2023 - 12:40

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Activity “Snacking” Can Benefit Individuals With T1D

Drug Topics

Doing small spurts of exercise throughout the day provide numerous benefits.

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Pegfilgrastim Biosimilar for Treatment of Neutropenia Launches

Pharmacy Times

Pegfilgrastim-pbbk is a leukocyte growth factor developed to reduce the onset of infection in patients with non-myeloid malignancies administered myelosuppressive anticancer medications associated with a clinically significant rate of febrile neutropenia.

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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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After decades of neglecting women athletes, sport and exercise medicine is finally catching up

STAT

When cyclist Alison Tetrick joined the sport’s professional ranks, she received the perks that come with the job — new bikes and clothing included. But she could never get comfortable on the bike saddles. After several years, Tetrick suffered so much damage to her genital area that she eventually resorted to surgery to trim excess skin from her labia.

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Cybersecurity attack against Amazon-owned online pharmacy PillPack exposed user health data

Fierce Healthcare

Cybersecurity attack against Amazon-owned online pharmacy PillPack exposed user health data aburky Fri, 05/19/2023 - 16:16

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News Roundup: May 15 to May 19

Drug Topics

Your weekly roundup of the latest news from Drug Topics®.

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Role of Live-JSLM in Treating Recurrent CDI

Pharmacy Times

Joseph Reilly, BS, PharmD, BCGP, and Andrew Skinner, MD, discuss the potential benefits of using live-jslm early on to treat CDI, as well as the implications of this new treatment.

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STAT+: Pear Therapeutics sold for parts at $6 million auction

STAT

Four different companies agreed to buy the assets of Pear Therapeutics at auction on Thursday morning after the digital health company filed for bankruptcy last month. Click Therapeutics, Welt Corp, Harvest Bio, and Nox Health Group each acquired bits of the company for $6.05 million, far short of the $32 million in debt Pear carried. A hearing to approve the sale will be held on May 22.

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Commercial payers frequently delayed paying out providers' claims in Q1, report finds

Fierce Healthcare

Commercial payers frequently delayed paying out providers' claims in Q1, report finds dmuoio Fri, 05/19/2023 - 15:44

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Walgreens reaches $230M opioid settlement with San Francisco

Drug Store News

In a statement, Walgreens said it "disputes liability" and did not admit fault, but settling allows it to focus on patients, customers and communities.

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Regular Cardio Exercise Can Significantly Reduce Risk of Death From Flu, Pneumonia

Pharmacy Times

At least 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity aerobic activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic activity found to improve outcomes in patients with flu or pneumonia.

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STAT+: Biden drug czar to summon naloxone makers to White House to discuss pricing

STAT

WASHINGTON — The White House is summoning naloxone manufacturers for a roundtable focused on the medication’s price, the Biden administration’s top drug policy official told STAT. The move would represent the White House’s most concrete action to date to address the price of naloxone , a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses.

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Treatment options for Crohn’s disease expand after Rinvoq approval

Pharmaceutical Technology

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved AbbVie’s Rinvoq (upadacitinib) for patients with Crohn’s disease who do not respond to TNF blockers, a common immune suppressant treatment for the condition. Whilst there is a range of FDA-approved biologics for Crohn’s disease, Rinvoq is the first approved oral product for the moderate to severe type of the disease.

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Intercept's NASH dreams may be dashed after FDA panel votes against Ocaliva's approval bid

Fierce Pharma

Intercept's NASH dreams may be dashed after FDA panel votes against Ocaliva's approval bid fkansteiner Fri, 05/19/2023 - 17:30

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Expanded Testing Found to Improve Diagnosis of Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Pharmacy Times

Study finds that a more accurate estimate of the burden of RSV disease will facilitate appropriate decision making regarding the use of preventive interventions, such as vaccination.

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STAT+: One in five primary endpoints changed in late-stage trials of cancer drugs already underway, study finds

STAT

Amid increased concerns over a lack of transparency in clinical trials, a new study found that one in five primary endpoints were changed after a late-stage study had begun, and 70% of the trials examined did not include information about primary endpoint changes in articles published in medical journals. Specifically, 145 of 755 randomized controlled trials for cancer medications — or 19% — had changes to the primary endpoints when using at least one of three different methods to

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UnitedHealthcare defends controversial prior authorization policy for colonoscopies

Fierce Healthcare

UnitedHealthcare defends controversial prior authorization policy for colonoscopies fdiamond Tue, 05/16/2023 - 16:43

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Could FDA recommend new antibiotic for hospital-acquired pneumonia?

European Pharmaceutical Review

A Phase III trial has found that the novel combination antibiotic sulbactam-durlobactam prevents at least as many fatalities of hospital-acquired pneumonia as colistin, the best currently approved treatment. This finding alongside the other data from the trial led the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee to recommend the FDA approve the combination antibiotic for often-fatal pneumonia strain carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii–calcoaceticus co

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2022 ACC Consensus on Role of Nonstatin Therapies for LDL-Cholesterol Lowering

Pharmacy Times

Since the 2018 guideline’s publication, additional non-statin therapies such as bempedoic acid, evinacumab, and inclisiran, have been approved by the FDA for the management of hypercholesterolemia.

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STAT+: Biotech and pharma execs wrestle with the ‘nightmare’ of developing digital biomarkers

STAT

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — As post-lunch drowsiness settled on an auditorium full of leaders from the drug development industry, Peter Fernandes, CEO of Bellerophon Therapeutics, seized the presentation clicker and jolted them awake. “I don’t believe in dreams, I believe in nightmares,” he told the audience, drawing a laugh.  “And I love nightmares.

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PBGH: What employers want to see as Congress aims to reform PBMs

Fierce Healthcare

PBGH: What employers want to see as Congress aims to reform PBMs pminemyer Mon, 05/15/2023 - 16:13

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AbbVie, Genmab's lymphoma drug Epkinly snags FDA approval in heated blood cancer race

Fierce Pharma

AbbVie, Genmab's lymphoma drug Epkinly snags FDA approval in heated blood cancer race aliu Fri, 05/19/2023 - 11:21

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Adolescents, Young Adults With Advanced Heart Disease Want More Active Role in Decision-Making

Pharmacy Times

Approximately 56.6% of young adults with advanced heart disease prefer to be involved in end-of-life decisions if they were very ill, with nearly all patients saying that they would also like their parents to be involved.

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