February 27: Pharmacy Week in Review

This weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings, and more. Our Week in Review is a can't miss for the busy pharmacy professional.

Nicole Grassano, Host: Hello and welcome to the Pharmacy Times News Network. I’m Nicole Grassano your host for our Pharmacy Week in Review.

A new study has found that US citizens who check into residential treatment facilities to recover from opioid-use disorder are not given medicines proven to combat addiction, Pharmacy Times reported. In addition, access to anti-addiction medications was most limited in states with less coverage for residential treatment through Medicaid and in states with more restrictions on prescribing these drugs. Only 15% of patients in residential drug treatement centers received the proper anti-addiction medicines, such as naltrexone or methadone, for effective treatment. Although several medications on the market are approved to help manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings, these medications have their own risks due to their strong nature.

New expert guidance on the use of fish oil-containing lipid emulsions in clinical practice represents the largest set of expert consensus statements on the topic, Contemporary Clinic reported. A set of 43 consensus recommendations was developed by an international panel of leading experts in clinical nutrition, lipid metabolism, and pharmacology. The recommendations are intended to help health care professionals navigate issues around prescription, administration, safety, and monitoring lipids. The current guidelines of international clinical societies recommend the use of fish oil-containing lipid emulsions in parenteral nutrition.

Certain non-oncology medications have been found to kill cancer cells in laboratory setting, Specialty Pharmacy Times reported. In order to expedite the process of discovering such outcomes, researchers have created a public resource with the growth-inhibitory activity of roughly 4500 drugs tested across 578 human cancer cell lines. The research resulted in nearly 50 new drugs with previously unrecognized anti-cancer activity. Among the new anti-cancer drugs were treatments initially developed to lower cholesterol or reduce inflammation. Most of the drugs functioned by interacting with a previously unrecognized molecular target. The researchers also examined the cell line’s genomic features and were able to predict whether certain drugs could kill that line.

Pharmacists may get more questions about Humira, if patients have seen a recent commercial for the prescription medication. In the spot, called “Girl’s Trip,” the narrator explains how humira is for individuals who still exhibit symptoms of Crohn disease after trying other medications. According to the commercial, Humira is a prescribed medical injection that is intended to reduce the signs and symptoms for adults who have been diagnosed with moderate to severe Crohn disease when taken regularly as ordered.

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Thanks for watching our Pharmacy Week in Review. I’m Nicole Grassano at the Pharmacy Times News Network.