Compounders, take heed!

The rules are changing on December 1 — you need to be ready.

As luck (and planning) would have it, GPhA’s got an awesome one-day (8 CE-hour), three-part course to get you up to snuff on the new USP <795>, <797>, and <800>.

We’ve got great instructors lined up, and it’s only $149 for members ($299 for non-members, and still a bargain).

It’s Saturday, September 14, 2019, from 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at GPhA’s HQ classroom in Sandy Springs.

What’s going to be covered?

• USP <795>: Non-sterile compounding
• USP <797>: Sterile compounding
• USP <800>: Hazardous drug compounding

The times, Bob Dylan pointed out, they are a changin’. Be ready! Visit GPhA.org/changin and sign up!

West Nile is here

Specifically, in DeKalb County. Say it with me, folks: “DEET. Permethrin. Picardian.”

Swine fever and heparin

African swine fever is a problem in China these days, and now Congress is looking into it because it’s threatening the already iffy supply of heparin. The anticoagulant, used in open heart surgery, is derived from pig intestines — and more than half (about 60 percent) comes from China.

Thanks for listening

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the FDA, and even drug manufacturers all said cough and cold medicines shouldn’t be used by young children. And guess what? Physicians listened and cut their prescription rates.

Compared with 2002 to 2008 […] in 2009 to 2015 prescriptions for non-opioid cough and cold medicines dropped 70% for kids under 2 years old, the study found. And recommendations for cough and cold drugs with opioids dropped by 90% among kids under 6 years old.

Pfizer splits

The drug company is combining it’s Upjohn division with Mylan to create a gigantic generics company (Mupjohn?).

If you’re into the economics end:

The two parties are looking at a stock transaction, in which Mylan investors will get 43% of the combined company and Pfizer investors the rest. Upjohn plans to issue $12 billion in new debt to wrap up the deal, and the proceeds will go to Pfizer.

Near the top of the to-do list

… is giving this new company (Upmy?) the job of producing EpiPens, which have been in short supply thanks to manufacturing issues.

Cigarette smoke might make MRSA even worse

The smoke stresses the bacteria, causing it to mutate faster, “resulting in hardy and persistent variants better able to resist antibiotics.” At least that’s the conclusion of a study out of the University of Bath.

Get out of my car … and under those trees

Being out in the green is good for you — and under tree canopy is especially. So finds a new study in JAMA Network Open.

Of note, the study found that time in green space improved both mental and physical health of people in Australia — where 90% of the fauna* is out to kill you. Even then, it’s still better than being indoors.

* The flora isn’t safe either. Meet the gympie gympie.

The longish read:

Some concentrated antibody solutions can separate when the temperature changes, reducing their effectiveness.

“Highly concentrated protein solutions can separate into different phases, like a vinaigrette salad dressing separating into layers over time. Phase separation is one of the pathways that makes these drugs unstable and unsuitable for use.”