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It's no secret that the drug industry isn't thrilled with the Trump administration's last-ditch push to bring down drug prices, including an order allowing drug imports from Canada. Now, PhRMA is taking its objections to court...After the administration unveiled its importation executive order in final form in September, PhRMA and other groups sued the Department of Health and Human Services last month arguing the measure violates the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act...The lawsuit claims HHS’ importation effort increases risks for the U.S. drug supply chain and forces companies to disclose trade secrets...READ MORE

For our 2020 survey, we received 1037 responses from pharmacists. This year undoubtedly posed new challenges for pharmacy amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and our findings underscore the effects...Compensation...pharmacists are still largely making close to what they made in previous years...41% said they received additional income in 2020. The highest earners reported an extra $15,000 or more on average, but most respondents reported between $1001 to $5000 in extra income...Stress and Workload...Management pressure, high work volume, endless amounts of paperwork––all of these are part of a pharmacist’s job...Compounded with the ongoing pandemic and high patient demand, it is no surprise that pharmacists are generally feeling more overwhelmed this year...survey results showed that pharmacists reported higher stress levels and increased workloads in 2020 compared with previous years. Seventy-three percent indicated increased stress levels in 2020 compared with 61% in 2019...READ MORE

The U.K. became the first Western nation to grant emergency-use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine, clearing a shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech SE to be distributed in limited numbers within days. The two-shot vaccine is also being reviewed by FDA in the United States, where a similar authorization could come later this month and a rollout before the end of the year. The decision has stirred up a global debate about how to weigh the desperate need for a vaccine with the imperative of assuring people that it is safe. “Help is on its way with this vaccine—and we can now say that with certainty, rather than with all the caveats,” the British health secretary, Matt Hancock...READ MORE

After President Donald Trump issued a range of executive orders targeting high U.S. drug prices in recent months, America's neighbors to the north are responding...Following warnings that mass exports could cause domestic drug shortages, Canadian officials blocked the shipment of meds to the U.S. if the exports would “cause or worsen” a shortage...The Canadian restriction went into effect on Friday, before the United States’ own rule to allow cheaper imports from its neighbor country as a way to lower prices...Moving forward, companies in Canada will be “required to provide information to assess existing or potential shortages, when requested, and within 24 hours if there is a serious or imminent health risk,” Health Minister Patty Hajdu said...READ MORE

Vaccine developers Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc on Monday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s invitation to attend a White House “Vaccine Summit”...The meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, comes ahead of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s review of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine candidates. It will be attended by Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and private-sector executives...Invitees at the meeting include drug distributors, pharmacies and logistics companies such as McKesson Corp, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, CVS Health Corp, United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp...READ MORE

A few days ago, allegations were made against North Korean hackers for cyberattacking COVID-19 vaccine frontrunner AstraZeneca. Turns out, the British pharma wasn’t alone on Pyeongyang’s hunting list...North Korean hackers have also tried to steal information from U.S. COVID vaccine developers Johnson & Johnson and Novavax...The totalitarian state also made attempts at three South Korean drugmakers working on COVID-19 vaccines or therapeutics: Celltrion, Genexine and Shin Poong Pharmaceutical...READ MORE

The drugmaker Moderna said...it would soon begin testing its coronavirus vaccine in children ages 12 through 17. The study, listed...on the website clinicaltrials.gov, is to include 3,000 children, with half receiving two shots of vaccine four weeks apart, and half getting placebo shots of salt water...Moderna announced on Monday that data from its study in 30,000 adults had found its vaccine to be 94.1 percent effective, and that it had applied to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization to begin vaccinating adults. If approval is granted, certain groups of high-risk adults, including people in nursing homes, could receive shots late in December...READ MORE

Telepharmacy began as a pilot project to bring pharmacy services to rural North Dakota communities too small to support a fulltime pharmacist. Two decades later, telepharmacy is an everyday reality across the country. The concept remains the same: a pharmacist in one location provides services electronically to patients in another location. But pharmacists, providers, patients, prescribers, payers, and regulators are all recognizing the benefits that virtual services can bring to pharmacy...READ MORE

Pharma giant expects to ship half the doses it had originally planned after finding raw materials in early production didn’t meet its standards...When Pfizer Inc. said last month it expects to ship half the Covid-19 vaccines it had originally planned for this year, the decision highlighted the challenges drug makers face in rapidly building supply chains to meet the high demand...“Scaling up the raw material supply chain took longer than expected,” a company spokeswoman said. “And it’s important to highlight that the outcome of the clinical trial was somewhat later than the initial projection.”...READ MORE

Supermarket pharmacies are gearing up to become major providers of COVID-19 vaccinations. Grocery stores say they are well-positioned to provide the vaccines because a large share of the population lives near one of their stores, and their pharmacies regularly offer vaccinations for other illnesses. The stores are now racing to secure the necessary equipment to administer COVID-19 vaccines, once they become available; train staff; and establishing online appointment scheduling services. HHS has signed on numerous grocery and pharmacy chains—including Kroger, Albertsons, and CVS Health—to provide COVID-19 vaccinations once the vaccines are approved by FDA...READ MORE