GPhA members attend NCPA fly in!

GPhA members are in Washington, D.C., continuing the fight with NCPA to end retroactive direct and indirect renumeration fees and increase PBM transparency. GPhA members are calling on Georgia’s congressmen and senators to explain the nature of these abusive practices and ask for support of NCPA’s initiatives.

Members began the morning listening to HHS Secretary Alex Azar as he pulled no punches about how he felt about “kick-backs” to PBMs and his strong support of community pharmacy. Look for more to come as members continue meetings today.

Hemp and low-THC oil in Georgia: What’s up?

Greg Reybold has a special legislative update on two bills that could affect pharmacists. One would allow hemp farming, one would allow the production of low-THC oil.

Click here to read his special legislative update explaining what’s what … and how it might affect you.

Finger pointing, PBM-style

On Capitol Hill, PBMs said the secret rebates they received from drug makers were not secret, and that the deals they made with manufacturers weren’t the reason for high medication costs — it’s the drug companies themselves to blame.

“A major factor contributing to the increase in drug spending is the list price of prescription drugs. Drug manufacturers alone set the list price of prescription drugs,” said William Fleming, president of health-care services at Humana.

That said, to quote Stat News, “the powerful bipartisan duo behind the hearing now appears intent on legislating, and it looks like increasing transparency will be their primary goal.”

$99 insulin subscriptions

That’s what Sanofi is unveiling, calling it the “Insulin Valyou* Savings Program.” For that $99, patients will get up to 10 boxes of insulin pens and the accompanying 10 mL vials of the drug each month regardless of income.

The new [pricing] structure can cover the full cost of patients’ needs and allow patients to mix and match vials and packs, plus insulin types.

* It must be French for “value” because the idea that the company is trying to combine “value” and “you” is silly, right?

Knock knock. Who’s there? Um … Candygram.

Researchers have a new way to target HIV: Lure the virus out of its hiding place, then destroy it. Or, as the study’s senior author explained:

“A lot of scientists are trying to develop a cure for HIV, and it’s usually built around the ‘kick and kill’ concept — kick the virus out of hiding and then kill it. There are some promising therapies being developed for the kill, but the holy grail is figuring out which cells are harboring HIV so we know what to kick.”

Why do more women get migraines?

The villain appears to be calcitonin gene-related peptide, or CGRP. When injected into the brains of male rats (the dura mater, to be specific), it did nothing. But the female rats got headaches. What will come of this information we don’t know, but unmasking the bad guy is always satisfying.

Seeing is believing

Coffee is so powerful… (How … powerful … is it?)

It’s so powerful that even being reminded of it can make you more alert and attentive.

Living near a highway is not good for kids.

Living near one — because of exposure to car pollution — can cause delayed neurological development. Or for folks who prefer the more science-y text*, “proximity to major roadway and prenatal/early-life exposures to PM2.5 and O3 were associated with developmental delays.”

* You know who you are.

Not sure Visine would do the trick

“Doctors Find Four Bees Living in Woman’s Eye, Feeding on Her Tears”

The long read: “All engine and no brake”

“Why Does Medicine Cost So Much? Here’s How Drug Prices Are Set“