October 11 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.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is offering its first online educational course, which is free of charge, Pharmacy Times reported.

Basics OnDemand is an adaptation of the alliance’s in-person Basics, a free education program for caregivers, parents, and other family who provide care for those 22 or younger who are experiencing mental health symptoms.

The program is divided into 6 sessions, which are:

basic elements of coping with mental health conditions; advocacy and self-care; brain biology and receiving a diagnosis; communication skills and crisis preparation; navigating the mental health and education systems; and treatment and connecting with others by sharing your story.

Basics has served 20,000 participants in 43 states across the country, and since 2009, the course has been offered by the alliance in an in-person, group setting.

The results of a study led by researchers at the University of San Francisco showed that young adults who are food insecure are more likely to suffer from disorders associated with high body mass index and obstructive airway diseases, such as asthma, Contemporary Clinic reported.

15,000 young adults were chosen to be analyzed in the study, and more than 1600 were characterized as food insecure, or “lacking sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets individuals’ dietary needs and preferences for an active and healthy life.”

Among the participants, more than twice as many in the food-insecure group said that they had been told by a medical provider that they have diabetes. The food-insecure group was also more likely to report that they had been told by a medical provider that they have high blood pressure.

Stress also plays a role in asthma and other obstructive airway diseases. Among the food-secure group, 14% were told that they had at least 1 of the obstructive airway conditions compared with 21% in the food-insecure group.

Health-related quality of life is often not collected for investigational cancer drugs or used to calculate the balance of benefits and costs when they are submitted for reimbursement, according to the results of a new Canadian study, Specialty Pharmacy Times reported.

In Canada, a common standard of 50,000 Canadian dollars per quality-adjusted life-year is often used, meaning that a new technology associated with a cost per quality-adjusted life-year of less than $50,000 will be reimbursed.

Among the 43 submissions evaluated, the gain in quality-adjusted life-years in most submissions was small, and in 65% of cases, the submitter’s best estimate of cost-effectiveness of the drug was in excess of $100,000 per quality-adjusted life-year. About 56% of submissions did not include original data on health-related quality of life, with most relying instead on evidence from previous studies.

These findings demonstrate that drug companies or manufacturers may not be including meaningful improvements in drug therapies that matter the most to patients, according to the study authors.

Pharmacists may get more questions about Vraylar, if patients have seen a recent commercial for the prescription medication.

In the spot, called “Roller Coaster” the narrator says that the ups and downs of mood swings can plunge patients into depressive lows and manic highs or moments in between.

According to the commercial, Vraylar is a prescribed oral medication that is intended to treat those who have been diagnosed with bipolar depression and acute manic or mixed episodes of bipolar 1 order when taken daily as directed.

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