Author: Peter

Pharmacy Board of Australia (the Board) has released revised guidelines that provide guidance to the profession on a range of issues.

Pharmacists are urged to read the revised guidelines published today:

• Guidelines for dispensing of medicines
• Guidelines on practice-specific issues,
• Guideline 1 Reference texts for pharmacists
• Guidelines on dose administration aids and staged supply of dispensed medicines, and
• Guidelines for proprietor pharmacists.

India's Cipla made its name in the west as a leader in challenging Big Pharma patents on expensive drugs in an effort to cut their prices in a country with a large need and little money. Cipla said it will pay $550 million for InvaGen Pharmaceuticals, a Hauppauge, NY-based generics maker with 32 products in the market and 30 in the pipeline, as well as Exelan Pharmaceuticals, a Lawrenceville, GA, operation that markets and sells InvaGen's products into the government and institutional markets.

PharmTalk is a special production from the University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy that features Keith and Kevin Boesen.

Why do college students decide to pursue a career in pharmacy? The reasons are more varied than you might think!

Biologic therapy targets genetic defects found in various cancers… FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation to MTG-201 (MTG Biotherapeutics Inc.) for the treatment malignant mesothelioma…drug targets the Dickkopf-3 genetic defect found in various cancers…There is a…need for new treatment options for…mesothelioma…one of the most aggressive and poorly treated cancers. MTG-201 represents a…novel approach to treating this cancer by selectively inducing apoptosis and inducing an immunologic response against the cancer..

For businesses to compete and grow…employers need to invest in their staff with training and development, and the pharmacy industry is no different…Savvy employers understand the importance of incorporating staff training and development in line with strategic business planning. Through planned and supported development programs, employees gain immense personal satisfaction and in turn, make a positive and lasting contribution to the business’ bottom line…Check out my top reasons to include staff training and development programs in your business:

• Increased employee satisfaction
• Improved performance
• Increased sales
• Staff retention and morale

..survey of the Chinese pharmaceutical market based on an opinion poll conducted with domestic and foreign suppliers attending CPhI’s annual China expo in Shanghai…Despite some structural concerns in the context of slowing macro-economic growth overall, the report offers a very positive outlook…China is the world’s largest producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Its massive pharmaceutical market is projected to be worth $158 billion worldwide in 2016, while domestic sales alone will account for $63 billion…China sales will double over the next five years.

physicians, pharmacists and researchers have been frustrated for decades at patients’ inability to…remain on their medication regimens…a round of experiments funded by the Affordable Care Act…offer hope of progress against one of medicine’s most intractable problems….

1. One project applies behavioral economics to the problem. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania gave 1,000 people "electronic pill bottles" when they left the hospital after heart attacks. If they forgot to take their medicine, the cap would light up and beep… If they took their medications,…they became eligible to win small lotteries that offer…prizes.
2. In Hawaii, another project, the $14.3 million "Pharm2Pharm" experiment, seeks to connect doctors and pharmacists who dispense medication to patients leaving hospitals with community pharmacists…Community pharmacists often complain that they have no idea which medications their patients are taking, especially when they leave hospitals with new ones and can’t guard against dangerous interactions.
3. In Wisconsin, more than 25 percent of the state’s pharmacists took a 12-hour training course, then sought out 100,000 people who appeared to be failing to refill their prescriptions…based on data provided by insurers under a $4.1 million project run by the state’s Pharmacy Society. Most were poor or elderly…Cost is a factor, convenience is a factor,..Lack of recognition of importance or need, health literacy and understanding" all contribute to non-adherence,…

…I appreciate your prediction of the approval for the DMD drugs but I think you're too optimistic about Sarepta Therapeutics. I believe FDA approves Biomarin but tells Sarepta that another trial must be run…why Biomarin over Sarepta? Because what Biomarin is seeking to do -- make a convincing argument for drisapersen's approval based on messy clinical data…It's something that the FDA has done before with drugs for rare diseases… Sarepta's eteplirsen, by contrast, requires the FDA to set a regulatory precedent which the agency might regret later.

The price of…health plans sold through Maryland’s insurance exchange will jump, on average, by about one quarter next year, fueling questions about whether coverage under the Affordable Care Act will remain affordable in the state…26 percent average increase in monthly premiums are for CareFirst plans, which cover three-fourths of the state residents who have bought insurance under the federal health-care law. The price jump,…is among rate changes that the state’s insurance regulators have approved for plans sold to individual families and small businesses.

Novartis plans the first human tests next year of a "smart" contact lens it is developing with Google designed to help restore the eye's natural autofocus….it would take about five years to see a product on the market,…we are already developing a technological lens prototype (that) should be tested on humans in 2016…for accommodative vision correction in people with presbyopia, or age-related long sightedness, who can no longer read without glasses… Novartis is also developing smart contact lenses to help diabetics track their blood glucose levels.