Ira in the news

GPhA member and 2019 Bowl of Hygeia honoree Ira Katz is in the news again, this time talking to Atlanta’s channel 2 about the Epi-Pen shortage. Check out the story and video here.

“Gimmick” no more

The Trump administration has overruled HHS Secretary Alex Azar, and says it — and he — will begin working with states that want to import drugs from Canada. Azar has been a staunch critic of the idea, even referring to it as a “gimmick,” but…

Azar, though, was reportedly overruled. The administration’s blessing could now pave the way for states such as Vermont, Florida, Colorado and Maine to begin drug importation.

Canada, however, isn’t keen on the idea. “According to a recent Reuters report, Canadian officials have told U.S. officials that there are other, better ways to lower drug costs.”

Well that didn’t last long

The big Senate drug-pricing bill? It’s already been hit with a flood of amendments from GOP senators that would gut some of its major provisions, including the big one: capping the price increases Medicare would pay to the rate of inflation.

The strangest argument: Limiting price increases on existing drugs will somehow stifle innovation on new drugs. So we’ll let the politicians sort it out and see what they end up with.

No surprise there

Pharmaceutical companies, and their PhRMA lobbying group, are opposed to the Senate plan for reducing drug prices because they would earn less money.

Tillery joins healthcare working group

Governor Kemp has named State Senator Blake Tillery of Vidalia to the Patients First Act Stakeholder Advisory Council, which is tasked to “request waivers to administer Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act differently in Georgia than they are administered in other states,” according to a press release from Tillery’s office.

“Many in our district find health insurance cost-prohibitive,” he said. “The folks who can afford coverage are paying two and three times the amount of their home mortgage just on premiums. That’s simply not sustainable.”

GPhA is also a member of the council (full list here).

Herbal recall

If by any chance you have products by Herbal Doctor Remedies on your shelves, they’ve been recalled. All of them. Why? you ask. Perhaps some of the product names will give a clue why the FDA had issues with the company:

• “Asma” Stopper
• Baby Saver
• Deafness Off
• Stone Purger

“These products have been marketed without FDA approval and were manufactured outside of the controls required by current Good Manufacturing Practices.”

Cancer hunter-killers

Cancer surgery can result in some cancerous cells breaking free and wreaking havoc in other places in the body. Biomedical engineers at Vanderbilt University have developed “cellular soldiers” — nanoparticles that attach to white blood cells, then hunt and kill escaped cancer cells.

“We’ve tested this both in the bloodstream and in hundreds of blood samples from cancer patients being treated in clinics across the country. In all cases, within two hours, the viable cancer cells are cleared out. This has worked with breast, prostate, ovarian, colorectal and lung cancer cells.”

Bad touch!

If you or someone you know has backyard chickens, do be careful. Six Georgians have already been infected with salmonella. Among other tips, the CDC recommends not allowing chickens into your house and “Don’t kiss backyard poultry or snuggle them and then touch your face or mouth.”