Governor signs HB233, HB323

It’s the end of PBM steering in Georgia — and much more. We’ll give you all the details of what these two companion bills mean for you and your patients, but for the moment let’s just say that it’s a very very big deal.

A host of GPhA members and staff joined Governor Kemp as he signed our bills yesterday, notably Jennifer Shannon of Lily’s Pharmacy who put her time, effort, and heart into making this happen:

Border caravan on the move

Not, not that border caravan. The one going to Canada to buy insulin.

But they might become unnecessary: “Trump asks Health secretary in Oval Office to help Florida import Canadian drugs.”

So it shall be written; so it shall be done

HHS has made it official: Drugs that cost more than $35 a month must have list-pricing info included in any television ads. The rule takes effect July 8*.

* Maybe it’s the 7th. Or the 9th. It’s 60 days from yesterday.

Diabetes patch as good as a needle

If you’re helping patients manage their type 2 diabetes, this is good to know:

An insulin patch can safely provide similarly effective glycemic management in adults with type 2 diabetes compared with a standard insulin pen, according to findings published in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics.

Injury to insult

Depressed mice — those that don’t produce enough serotonin — also seem to have stomach issues. Serotonin not only affects the brain, but also gut neurons, causing constipation and other issues.

“Ultimately, many patients with depression are faced with limited treatment options and have to suffer with prominent GI dysfunction.”

Phages come through again

We love us some bacteriophages, especially in this age of drug-resistant bacteria. That’s why this story is doubly interesting. Physicians not only successfully treated a teen’s antibiotic-resistant mycobacterial infection with phages (a first), but they had to first genetically engineer the phage to turn it into a bacteria killer.

“Drug-resistant mycobacterial infections are quite common, and there is a strong need for new approaches to treat them,” [phage expert Graham] Hatfull* said. “Bacteriophages are super interesting and harbor numerous unsolved mysteries. Studies such as this illustrate the potential for phages to control bacterial infections but also emphasize the need to make further research advances in order to determine if and how they can be broadly applied.”