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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..

Hedge-fund manager Kyle Bass may have hit some recent speed bumps in his quest to challenge pharma patents through a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office review system. But he's not giving up… not to be deterred, refiled the two Ampyra challenges…with more documentation, and he filed two new challenges against the drug's other IP shields, too… Bass has been using the inter partes review system to wage war on patents from companies such as Celgene, Shire, Biogen and Acorda that he thinks aren't up to snuff,...Bass and his partners want "to line their own pockets at the expense of public pharmaceutical companies and their shareholders,"…

Citing the success of product launches, the ratings firm Moody's has raised the outlook for the pharmaceutical sector from "neutral" to "positive."...Projected annual EBIDTA for the global biopharma industry is 4% to 5% over the next 12 to 18 months…One of the industry's biggest areas of growth is oncology, driven largely by the emergence of immuno-oncologic drugs, such as Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo and Merck's Keytruda.

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,…

Pay-Per-Click advertising sites, primarily search engines, are largely unaware of the new regulations governing 503B Outsourcing Facilities. Pay-per-click advertising has been one of the main ways non-compliant compounding pharmacies have been able to sell their products and services to hospitals, physicians and patients. Outsourcing Facilities of America is working to educate PPC advertising companies on the regulatory requirements… create new policies and procedures to stop non-compliant compounding pharmacies from selling their products in violation of these regulations.

Six Southern Nevada physicians have been honored by a nonprofit organization committed to improving access and delivery of medical care in the region. This year's Inspired Excellence in Health Care awards from Las Vegas HEALS (Health Education Advocacy Leadership of Southern Nevada) go to…

1. Joseph Adashek - Desert Perinatal Associates, Summerlin, Southern Hills and Valley hospitals, Angel Flight
2. Rutu Ezhuthachan – United Healthcare, Southern Nevada Immunization and Health Coalition, Immunize Nevada
3. Mitchell Forman - founding dean Touro Univerity (University) College of Osteopathic Medicine
4. Oscar Goodman Jr. - Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, Roseman University of Health Sciences
5. David Steinberg - Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging, American College of Nuclear Medicine
6. Dylan Wint - Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health

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.

It's no secret that pharma salespeople are barred at the doors of many doctors' offices. Those doors have been closing one by one for several years…barriers are rising at a bad time for drugmakers intent on launching new products to make up for patent-cliff losses. Just as doors are closing, there's been a renaissance in drug approvals, with the FDA blessing record numbers of meds in the past few years…pharma marketers have adopted workarounds--such as digital detailing--face-to-face meetings are still the cornerstone of new drug launches.

UNLV (University of Nevada Las Vegas) and the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health have been awarded an $11.1 million federal grant to advance the understanding of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases…is aimed at increasing knowledge of dementia-related and age-associated degenerative disorders…will create a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence,..part of a program that promotes the study of medicine, molecular biology and public health.