The Dose, Issue 01

Welcome to the first issue of The Dose! Every month, Drug Topics managing editor Lauren Biscaldi, MS will publish a midmonth deep dive into our latest coverage, the most pressing pharmacy issues, and more.

Bearing the brunt of an industry in flux isn’t easy.

To put it bluntly, pharmacists have taken quite a few punches over the last several years. Between diminishing returns on dispensing prescriptions, increased workload, and an inability to reimburse for services provided, it’s no surprise when another news story about an independent pharmacy closing its doors makes the rounds on social media.

Our team will be heading down to sunny (and humid) Orlando to cover the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) 2024 Annual Meeting. I’m particularly fond of APhA: It was the first meeting I covered after taking the reins at Drug Topics, and it’s one that I look forward to every year (I also look forward to the free swag from the exhibit hall). This year’s theme is Unleash the Power of Pharmacy, something that pharmacists have been clamoring to do for years.

This on-the-ground coverage comes just weeks after the American Medical Association (AMA) published yet another article on scope creep, this one taking aim at pharmacists. In it, the AMA urged lawmakers to “exercise extreme caution when considering legislation that would expand scope of practice for pharmacists” due to alleged shortfalls in pharmacist education and training. A week later, Michael Hogue , PharmD, and Lee Vermeulen, BSPharm, MS, FCCP, FFIP , the CEO of APhA and the CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, respectively, published a response describing the AMA article as an uninformed, misguided diatribe and urging an apology and retraction; whether these actions are taken remains to be seen.

Regardless of the outcome, the wide range of sessions on offer at the APhA Annual Meeting demonstrates exactly how well-educated, innovative, and capable pharmacists are. We’re excited to have the opportunity to attend, and we hope you’ll follow along with our coverage next week, available here.

#ICYMI

While we’re hard at work covering the latest news in health care and pharmacy, catch up on these recent articles we think you shouldn’t miss.

The FDA has been busy this month, with several new approvals and label updates (See: The approval of tocilizumab-aazg (Tyenne), the first Acterma biosimilar with both intravenous and subcutaneous formulations; a new indication for zanubrutinib (Brukinsa) plus obinutuzumab, for relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma; and a breakthrough therapy designation for MM120, a lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)–based treatment for generalized anxiety disorder).

But it’s last Friday’s late afternoon indication update for semaglutide (Wegovy) to reduce cardiovascular risks in adults with overweight or obesity, without type 2 diabetes, that may impact pharmacists the most. Weight loss medications—Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro (tirzepatide), and others—are having a pop culture moment: Everyone from Real Housewives stars to Oprah have opened up about their use of weight loss medications. Data do support the benefits of weight loss—as detailed here, and here and here in the New England Journal of Medicine—but the widespread interest has led to a shortage of a medication that’s crucial to those who need it (Shoutout to Hayden E. Klein , writing for our sister publication AJMC - The American Journal of Managed Care , for this deep dive into the ongoing access issues).?

Manufacturer 诺和诺德 made headlines last year with its 2 lawsuits against 2 businesses offering customers compounded semaglutide products. Testing conducted on these compounded products showed a number of issues, including impurities, inaccurate strength labeling, and the presence of BPC-157, a synthetic pentadecapeptide containing 15 amino acids, which was banned by the FDA for use in compounded drugs in September 2023.?

?Both lawsuits against the Florida-based businesses were settled in February, but additional lawsuits against clinics, med spas, and other compounding pharmacies are still making their way through the court system. As recently as March 8, the company indicated they are working with authorities around the world to rein in counterfeit products, which have been found in as many as 16 countries thus far, and have resulted in harm to patients.

With more indications to come (positive top-line results from the FLOW trial evaluating semaglutide as an adjunct to standard of care for chronic kidney disease in type 2 diabetes were announced earlier this month), it will be interesting to see how the semaglutide shortage continues to unfold.

In Other News…

• On March 1, CVS and Walgreens announced they’d begin dispensing mifepristone, starting in a small handful of states and rolling out to other states where abortion remains legal. Our coverage (written by yours truly) looks back at the bumpy road these 2 retail giants took to get to this point.
• Government officials, industry experts, and Mark Cuban ?joined a White House–hosted roundtable to discuss everyone’s favorite topic: pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Associate Editor Brian Nowosielski covered the hour-long discussion, which touched on predatory PBM practices—spread pricing, clawbacks, and a lack of transparency, oh my—and the ways these practices negatively impact both independent pharmacies and patients alike.

Fight Your FOMO

The sun is shining, the flowers are pollinating, and spring is on the way. Also on the way? The next Total Pharmacy? Solutions Summit, scheduled for April 13, 2024. This time around, the agenda will focus on elevating patient-centric care; topics include navigating the evolving health care landscape, the role of accreditation and value-based care in operational excellence, and the importance of community pharmacists as credentialed providers.

Day-of attendees can also earn up to 1.50-plus hours of free CE credits with 2 sessions accredited by AdvanCE: The first focuses on effective strategies for the prevention and treatment of C diff infections, while the second dives into the art of health communication.

Ready to register? Click here to sign up and check out the full agenda.

That's all, folks! Thanks for reading, we'll be back next month.

?—Lauren Biscaldi, managing editor, Drug Topics?

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