The Russians viruses are coming! The Russian viruses are coming!

A virus in Russian bats, named Khosta-2, can infect humans and — despite being the same kind of coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2, is resistant to current vaccines as well as Covid-19 monoclonal antibody treatment.

These kinds of pathogens, sarbecoviruses, aren’t new, but so far none were able to infect humans. Until now.

The good news (at the moment) is that Khosta-2 is missing a gene that will allow it to go from human infection to human disease. As long as it doesn’t combine with another virus, we’ll be fine. And what are the odds of that?

Hoping for a natural 7.

Congrats to two PharmDawgs

A big ol’ high-five to UGA’s Cicely Hemphill and Alaina Lewis, who were both honored at the 20th annual UGA Black Faculty and Staff Organization’s annual luncheon Wednesday.

Cicely is the College of Pharmacy’s registrar in the Student Affairs Office and was recognized for her “occupational excellence and commitment to service,” while Alaina is a P-3 PharmD student; she received the BFSO Founders Scholarship.

The Medicare price-negotiation battle ain’t over

Georgia’s own Buddy Carter is one of the Republican members of Congress who said he’ll work to repeal provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act — the ones that allow Medicare to negotiate the prices of some drugs — if Republicans gain control of Congress this coming January.

The GOP concern is that paying pharmaceutical companies less could stifle innovation, while Democrats maintain that paying whatever they ask is a Bad Idea.

Stay tuned.

It’s a psoriasis drug and a weight-loss med!

Having psoriasis means an increased risk of heart issues and even stroke. Good news: The psoriasis drug apremilast (Otezla to its friends) not only treats the skin condition, but — according to a UPenn study — can also help patients lose weight by decreasing their fat deposits.

[S]eeing a drop in visceral fat during apremilast treatment suggests that, over the longer term, psoriasis patients who take apremilast may be on a trajectory toward better cardiovascular health.”

Your grain of salt: “This research was supported by Celgene and Amgen, which manufactured/manufacture apremilast, respectively.”

Fighting opioid abuse: carrots and sticks

CDC data say 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021, up 15% from the year before.

That in mind … coming soon from a White House near you: $1.5 billion to fight the opioid crisis, in the form of funds for carrots and sticks.

Carrots: Funds for substance-use and recovery treatment (including opioids, coke, and meth), easier naloxone access, overdose education efforts, and peer-support specialists in emergency departments.

Sticks: $12 million for “law enforcement in areas suffering the worst of drug trafficking” (that’s in addition to $275 million announced in April, “and sanctions on individuals and groups involved with drug cartels.”

And so it begins

Drug Store News: “Target kicks off holiday shopping season in October^*”.

* Twist: It’s actually kicking off the 2024 shopping season.

The Long Read: +1 edition

The high from pot comes from THC — specifically, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol. But more and more companies are skirting marijuana laws by offering products with the less-potent delta-8 THC. And that’s causing all sorts of health and legal issues.

But the THC itself and the way it’s made are more troublesome than you might think. Are these products just a milder cannabis oil, or “synthetic mixtures of unknown garbage”?