GPhA’s Duke elected president

Congrats to Dr. Lori Duke, UGA College of Pharmacy assistant dean for Experience Programs. She’s been elected president of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).

Drug prices: A different view

Looking at data from IQVIA, Adam Fein from Drug Channels argues that drug prices are not, in fact, skyrocketing.

While the list prices of “protected” drugs (i.e., there’s no generic competition) rose 5.7% in 2018, if you look at the net price — what pharmacies actually pay after rebates and other discounts — it only rose 2.1% that year. And that’s a trend that goes back at least several years.

Assuming IQVIA’s data are correct, it certainly puts a spin on all the talk about prices, don’t it?

UGA sans Francisco

A fond farewell to Dr. George Francisco, associate dean for academic affairs at UGA, who is retiring after almost four decades with the College of Pharmacy.

Who deserves an award

You’re running out of time to nominate a pharmacy professional for one of GPhA’s prestigious awards:

• The Distinguished Young Pharmacist Award
• The Excellence in Innovation Award
• The Generation Rx Champion Award
• The Larry Braden Meritorious Service Award
• The Bowl of Hygeia

Get more information on what each of these awards represents, then nominate someone to receive one — all at GPhA.org/awards!

Whatever happened to beta blockers?

“No other class of drugs in cardiovascular medicine has such a broad list of clinical indications,” writes Baylor University cardiologist and researcher Milton Packer.

Despite overwhelming evidence of efficacy, most patients with heart failure do not receive proper doses of beta-blockers in clinical practice. There is no good reason for the lack of prescribing. There is no dispute about their efficacy. Patients with heart failure typically tolerate them very well. And they are not expensive.

Cancer patients may have undiagnosed hepatitis

If some of your patients are getting cancer treatment, especially immunotherapies, you might suggest they get screened.

A large proportion of patients with past (87 percent) and chronic (42 percent) hepatitis B infections were undiagnosed prior to the study, as were as 31 percent of patients with hepatitis C, according to the report.

Tongue biome can indicate pancreatic head cancer

A study of the bacteria on patients’ tongues found that people with pancreatic head cancer (PHC) had a noticeably different microbiome. From the study:

[The] analyses revealed that PHC patients were colonized by significantly different tongue coating microbiota compared with healthy controls.

Don’t want to read the paper itself? Fine, fine. Here’s the news story.

The long read: Whatever happened to “right-to-try”?

The law passed, but then what? The short answer: It didn’t change anything. But the details and stories are a bit more complex.

Elsewhere: ICYMI edition

The Washington State measles outbreak has convinced the governor there to declare a state of emergency. Vaccinate your kids, people! (The state’s legislature is now considering a bill to ban non-medical exemptions from vaccination requirements.)