From a $1.2M gene therapy to a $450K lymphoma med, these are the 10 priciest medications out there.
from FiercePharma
FiercePharma takes a look at the ten priciest medications, including a treatment for lipoprotein lipase deficiency (Glybera, $1.21 million per year), a treatment for urea cycle disorders (Ravicti, $793,632), a therapy used to treat Pompe disease (Lumizyme, $626,400), and more.
Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
The possibility of curing sepsis with a common vitamin has put one of history’s greatest killers back in the spotlight.
from WebMD
The problem got a new look in recent months after Virginia doctors who used a cocktail of vitamin C, corticosteroids, and vitamin B1 said it helped fight off organ failure and death in patients with sepsis. Among 47 patients who received that mix, all but four survived, the doctors reported in a recent study.
Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
Scientists invented chemical weapons; some are now working to destroy them.
from The Conversation
A chemical weapons attack that killed more than 80 people, including children, triggered the Trump administration’s recent missile strikes against the Syrian government. The use of illegal nerve agents – apparently by the Assad regime – violated international law; President Trump said he was moved to act by images of the victims’ horrible deaths. But there’s another path to mitigate the danger of chemical weapons. This route lies within the domains of science – the very same science that produced chemical weapons in the first place.
Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
Using surrogate endpoints can speed up testing of new drugs, but doesn’t always find out if they actually help patients.
from NPR
There is growing interest in reducing the evidence required to approve new drugs and to more rapidly deliver new therapies to patients. The sentiment behind speeding approval is a good one—no one wants to delay the availability of drugs that are beneficial and safe—but can lead to shortcuts in evidence generation that can also come with risk.
Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
The three plaintiffs are seeking damages from Mylan to represent a nationwide class of EpiPen purchasers.
from Reuters
The lawsuit was filed on Monday in Tacoma, Washington, federal court by three EpiPen purchasers. It claims Mylan engaged in a scheme with pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs – companies that act as intermediaries between pharmacies, insurers and drug companies – to dominate the market and overcharge consumers. Although other lawsuits have been filed over EpiPen pricing, Monday’s is the first to focus on the role of PBMs and to bring claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal law historically used against organized crime.
Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
In the last couple of decades, biologists have been working to hack the cells’ algorithm in an effort to control their processes.
from Wired
Cells are basically tiny computers: They send and receive inputs and output accordingly. If you chug a Frappuccino, your blood sugar spikes, and your pancreatic cells get the message. Output: more insulin. But cellular computing is more than just a convenient metaphor.
Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
How can one possibly deny a dying patient even the slightest chance of prolonged life or recovery? Is there a side effect worse than certain death?
from Health Affairs Blog
Some patients facing death take drastic, or even desperate measures in order to prolong their lives. Such actions often include taking unapproved, investigational drugs. In the U.S., a program known as Compassionate Use, or Expanded Access, allows terminally ill patients who meet certain medical criteria to apply (through their physicians) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the drug manufacturers for access to drugs that are undergoing FDA clinical trials. At first blush, it may appear that there should be no legal, political, or ethical controversies surrounding the concept of expanded access. How can one possibly deny a dying patient even the slightest chance of prolonged life or recovery? Is there a side effect worse than certain death?
Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
Coworkers and patients can offer a source of camaraderie and humor, if we only focus on finding it.
from Pharmacy Times
Sometimes the workload and expectations of pharmacists can be enormous. Add to that unexpected obstacles and frustrations. It’s easy to become irritable and grumpy at work. However, I would like to offer an antidote to that path. I’d like to suggest instead focus on the positives. Count your blessings. See the workload as job security and comfortable wages.
Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
How did an educated, elderly engineer wind up with a heroin habit?
from Scientific American
It was 4 P.M., and Andrew* had just bought 10 bags of heroin. In his kitchen, he tugged one credit-card-sized bag from the rubber-banded bundle and laid it on the counter with sacramental reverence. Pain shot through his body as he pulled a cutting board from the cabinet. Slowly, deliberately, he tapped the bag’s white contents onto the board and crushed it with the flat edge of a butter knife, forming a line of fine white powder. He snorted it in one pass and shuffled back to his armchair. It was bitter, but snorting heroin was safer than injecting, and he was desperate: his prescription pain medication was gone.
Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
The bill, approved by a House committee last week, would eliminate long-standing genetic privacy protections from workplace wellness programs.
from STAT
Opposition to a congressional bill that would explicitly remove genetic privacy protections from workplace wellness programs grew on Monday, with one of the country’s leading wellness associations calling the proposed changes “punitive.”
Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
