By: Shivani Kaneria, Pharm D. Candidate c/o 2020 Postpartum depression is a mood disorder that affects 10 – 20 percent of new mothers post childbirth per year, and is caused by a combination of both physical and emotional factors.5 Mothers who experience this form of depression undergo common symptoms of feeling sad, crying often with…

By: Aiśa Mrkulic, PharmD. Candidate c/o 2022 APhA’s Red Dress Gala continues to be their largest, not-for-profit fundraising event of the year. Welcome were members and non-members all the same. Student pharmacists from other chapters are often present—the 5th Annual Red Dress Gala being no exception! DAC Ballroom housed the festivities, as awareness was brought…

By: Alisha Kuriakose, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022 Every ten seconds, someone in the United States (U.S.) goes to the emergency room with complaints of head pain, many of which can be attributed to migraines. A migraine is a neurological condition characterized by intense and debilitating headaches. Those suffering from migraines may have experiences including nausea,…

By: Mah Noor, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021 Although the opioid crisis began in the late 1990s, there has been a recent increase in prescription and illicit opioid drug use which has led to an increased prevalence of opioid overdoses due to misuse and dependency. In 2017, the number of overdose related deaths involving opioids, including…

By: Darien Lee, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021            Wuhan, the most populous city in Central China, has a population of over 11 million people. The city is one of China’s largest transportation and manufacturing centers with dozens of railways and roads as well as thousands of technological enterprises and institutions, respectively. In late December 2019,…

By: Michael Lim, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020            Osteoporosis is a bone disease affecting nearly ten million people in the United States.1 It can be caused by excess bone loss, insufficient bone production, or a combination of both factors. The disease is responsible for two million broken bones and 19 billion dollars in related healthcare…

By: Evanthia Siozios, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020            Anxiety, nausea, muscle pain, insomnia are some of the most common withdrawal symptoms experienced when users stop taking opioids. According to a randomized controlled trial entitled Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study (POATS) conducted in outpatient treatment settings across the United States including Mclean Hospital in Massachusetts and…

By: Daniela Farzadfar, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020            Over 30 million Americans are currently living with diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), in 2017, the total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States was 327 billion dollars with 237 billion dollars alone attributed to direct medical costs.1 Among these direct medical costs…

By: Michael Lim, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020            In a February 2019 Senate Finance Committee hearing, executives from major pharmaceutical companies including AbbVie, Merck, and AstraZeneca were criticized for the high cost of brand-name prescription drugs.1 When asked why brand-name prescription drugs in the United States were more expensive compared to other developed countries, an…

By: Michael Lim, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020            As modern technology continues to grow ever more complex and powerful, it is no surprise that the healthcare industry is constantly searching for medical applications of the latest technological advancements. Whether it be new health system software or medical devices for at home testing, the integration of…

By: Michael Lim, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020            In 2017, 70,237 overdose deaths occurred in the United States. Of those deaths, 47,600 (sixty-seven point eight percent of all drug overdose deaths in 2017) involved opioids.1 As the current main driver of drug overdose deaths, opioids and their misuse and abuse represent an ongoing health epidemic…

By: Sylvia Hong (PharmD Candidate c/o 2021), Muaz Sadeia (PharmD Candidate c/o 2021)            On March 5, 2019, Janssen Pharmaceuticals gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for esketamine (Spravato™), the first fast acting nasal spray antidepressant indicated for treatment of resistant depression as conjunctive therapy to oral antidepressants in adults.1 This new…

By: Michael Lim, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020            In the investigation of gene function and its role in health care and disease management, RNA interference is an important scientific tool. Possessing the ability to individually turn off nearly 22,000 genes upon introduction into human cells, small interfering ribonucleic acids (siRNAs), while useful in research settings,…

By: Vasantha Kolluri, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 With the recent advancement of oral oncology drugs, there has been an ever-growing need for specialty pharmacy services. Although these oral agents allow for patients to receive therapy at home, clinical outcomes heavily depend upon patient adherence and management. Specialty pharmacy is a niche area of pharmacy practice…

By: Mah Noor, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021 As society flourishes, life seems to grow more complex. Among the barrage of images, voices and social media campaigns, a domestic issue which often seems to be neglected in the United States is the overall deficit in addressing various aspects of mental health. On May 30, 2018 The…

By: Ruchira Kasbekar, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020 It is estimated that approximately 80,000 Americans died from the flu during the 2017-2018 flu season which is the highest death toll from influenza in the last four decades.1 As the 2017-2018 flu season progressed, there was a shortage of oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) availability. To prevent shortages during the…

By: Michael Lim, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020 In 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved fingolimod (Gilenya®) for the treatment of adults with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS).1 Historically, fingolimod has been used as a convenient second line oral treatment upon failure of initial disease-modifying therapy for relapsing-remitting MS in adult populations.2 Therefore, when a…

By: Karen Chen, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 On July 13th, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a voluntary recall of several different national drug codes (NDCs) of medications containing the active ingredient valsartan (Diovan®) after the discovery of an impurity called N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). The reason for the recall was because the impurity…

By: Michael Lim, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020 As the nation continues to struggle with the growing opioid epidemic, numerous organizations, researchers, and even the president are taking initiative in resolving the crisis. Of these groups, perhaps one of the most proactive in its efforts is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). With its promotion of…

By: Rizwan Atiq, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – Biotin is a nutrient that is present in certain foods and is available as a dietary supplement. It is present in many multivitamins as well as sold as its own supplement in pharmacies and supermarkets. It is marketed as a vitamin which is used to improve the…

By: Maria Spilios, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – Opioid dependence is a major public health concern. Misuse of prescription opioids and heroin affects more than two million Americans and an estimated fifteen million people worldwide per year; the prevalence of misuse and addiction is rapidly increasing with each passing year. More than 20,000 deaths in…

By: Lameesa Dhanani, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – *Disclaimer: In November 2018, the FDA issued a Safety Communication against changing a patient’s medications solely based on the genetic test results since these genetic tests have not been reviewed by the FDA. In a competitive market where pharmacy jobs are scarce, I always remind myself why…

By: Michael Lim, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020 – In an era of widespread pharmaceutical innovation, the rise of biological products is no surprise. Biosimilars – biological products that are highly similar to and have no clinically meaningful differences compared to reference products that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – have taken…

By: Karen Chen, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – Ibalizumab-uiyk (Trogarzo®) is specifically indicated for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type- 1 (HIV-1) infection in combination with other antiretroviral medications in heavily-treatment experienced adults with multidrug resistant HIV-1 infections who are failing their current antiretroviral regimen. Ibalizumab-uiyk is a CD4- directed post-attachment HIV-1 inhibitor that…

By: Jonathan Mercado, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – In November of 2017, the FDA approved the first drug to contain digital sensors.1 Abilify MyCite® (aripiprazole) is indicated for schizophrenia and is manufactured by Japanese company, Otsuka Pharmaceutical.2 While patients may be hesitant to use a medication that digitally tracks whether or not they’ve taken it,…

By: Yeonah Suk, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020 – Despite the $107 billion a year cancer drug industry there is no substantiated cure for cancer. Cancer can be treated by targeting a variety of cellular mechanisms. One innovative approach incorporates the use of proteasome inhibitors in the regulation of programmed cell death. Damaged or inessential proteins…

By: Gabrielle Flavoni, PharmD Candidate c/o 2018 – This past November, the ACC/AHA released a new definition for the word “hypertension” that has been updated for the first time since 2003. Under these new guidelines, more than half of the U.S. population will now be categorized as having high blood pressure. Presented at the AHA’s…

By: Michelle Huang, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021 – In the midst of countless chronic diseases that we face today, one that is usually overlooked is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). On average it affects 5.2 million individuals per year and women are twice as likely to develop PTSD.1 This overwhelming incidence is greatly attributed to the…

By: Katharine Russo, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021 – With the continued increase of antibiotic resistant diseases, scientists are calling this current healthcare climate a pre-antibiotic era. β-lactam antibiotics, the most common class of antibiotics globally, include penicillins, cephalosporins, and carbapenems. They all act on the human body through the same mechanism of action (MOA) –…

By: Katharine Russo, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021 – The DEA announced in August 2017 that 2018 would bring strict manufacturing reductions to commonly prescribed schedule II opioid painkillers. As the opioid epidemic continues to take countless lives, the government, including President Donald Trump are cracking down on regulations. Under this directive, there will be a…

By: Katie Lee, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – In 2015, FDA approved evolocumab (Repatha ®), a human monoclonal antibody of the PCKSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9) inhibitor class.1 Evolocumab is used to treat adult patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) or clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease who need further lowering of their LDL-C levels,…

By: Anna Diyamandoglu, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020 – The specificity of individuals’ genetic makeup has been one of the primary obstacles facing healthcare professionals in their attempt to treat cancer patients. Cancer is at the forefront of disease states which have proved difficult to understand and treat due to each patient’s unique genetic makeup and…

By: Thanesha Graham, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Gehrig was an American first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees and passed away from ALS at the age of 37. According to the Centers for Disease…

By: Zachary Reale, PharmD Candidate c/o 2018 – Today there are over fifty oral anticancer agents on the market and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved much of these agents within the last ten years.  The number of oral anticancer agents will likely continue to grow in the near future, as more than…

By: Yan Yi Chan, PharmD Candidate c/o 2018 – Tardive dyskinesia is a movement disorder characterized by involuntary and repetitive movements of the tongue, jaw, lips, face, trunk, upper and lower extremities, and respiratory system.1 This is usually associated with the use of dopamine receptor blockers such as antipsychotic medications in treating psychiatric disorders and…

By: Vicky Liu, PharmD Candidate c/o 2018 – On July 11, 2016, lifitegrast (Xiidra®), the first lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1), was approved by FDA for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. The risk for patients to develop dry eye syndrome increases with age, occurring in 5% of adults ages…

By: Anna Diyamandoglu, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020 – Hepatitis C is an infectious disease which is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and is characterized by inflammation of the liver. Its effects on the body range from a mild illness that lasts several weeks to a chronic illness that attacks the liver and affects…

By: Victoria Hom, PharmD Candidate c/o 2018 – This year marked the 31st anniversary of Chernobyl, the worst nuclear disaster in history due to a malfunctioned reactor operated by inadequately trained staff. The accident’s explosion released a large plume of iodine-131, one of many radioactive substances, into the atmosphere, which prompted an evacuation around the…

By: Kenny Chan, PharmD – Competition is the greatest driver of innovation and cost savings. The U.S. health care system relies heavily on generic medications to reduce the cost of drug spending. Since the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984, generic versions of chemically synthesized, “small molecule” drugs have dominated the market and contributed to over 80%…

By: Kimberly Lapierre, PharmD Candidate c/o 2017 – Since its inception in 2003, the Johnson Space Center Pharmacy has taken giant leaps to advance the field of pharmacy on Earth and in space. Under the direction of pharmacist Tina Bayuse, the pharmacy is responsible for preparing medication kits for astronauts at the International Space Station, creatively approaching medication challenges that come…

By: Gabrielle Flavoni, PharmD Candidate c/o 2018 – The release of this year’s updated immunization schedule has sent a buzz throughout the healthcare industry. From small changes in the footnotes to an addition to an entire new table, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has done what it could to clarify the guidelines, while…

By: Alex Chu, Staff Writer – On March 21 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved obiltoxaximab (Anthim®), an intravenous injection, for the treatment and prevention of inhalational anthrax toxicity for adult and pediatric patients. Developed by Elusys Therapeutics, obiltoxaximab is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the protective antigen of anthrax, which is…

By: Gabrielle Flavoni, PharmD Candidate c/o 2018 – Drug diversion has always been a golden target for our nation’s law enforcement agents, and a new level of overdose epidemic is taking center stage. Last month, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) issued a public health warning regarding a synthetic opioid known as carfentanil. Carfentanil is…

By: Nicollette Pacheco, PharmD Candidate c/o 2017 – It is an easy decision to include a black box warning on a drug label in response to clinically significant drug safety information. The decision to remove such a warning, on the other hand, has recently proven to be a more difficult decision. Varenicline (Chantix®) was approved…

By: Jack (Hongkai) Bao, PharmD Candidate 2018 – Metformin is an oral anti-hyperglycemic agent of the biguanide class and is FDA-indicated to treat type 2 diabetes or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).1 Metformin works by decreasing hepatic glucose production and simultaneously increasing peripheral tissue sensitivity to insulin. Unlike other oral anti-hyperglycemic agents such as the sulfonylureas,…

By:  Caitlyn Cummings, Pharm.D. and Maria Marzella Mantione, Pharm.D., CGP, FAPhA – From ordering food to requesting transportation, we trust app-based delivery services for everything, so it makes sense that medication delivery through an app would be next. Zipdrug is a new medication delivery service based in New York City which will pick-up and deliver…

By: Jack (Hongkai) Bao, Staff Editor – On December 21st 2015, the FDA approved selexipag (Uptravi®), marketed by Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in adults.1 Selexipag offers a newer treatment alternative for PAH, the conventional therapy of which originally included vasodilators such as Epoprostenol (Flolan®) and Treprostinil (Remodulin®)…

By: Alex Chu, Staff Writer – On November 5th 2015, the U.S Food and Drug Administration approved Genvoya®, a once daily tablet containing a combination of elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) for the treatment of HIV-1 infections in adults and pediatric patients age 12 or older.1 Genvoya® is a combination of antiretroviral drugs…

By: Maryam Ahmed, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – While hospitals are a place where people can get their ailments cured, there is still room for improvement. According to the Institute of Medicine, over 1.5 million Americans are injured in hospitals each year.1 Hospital protocols are implemented to keep these errors to a minimum in order…

By: Jacqueline Chirico, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disorder in which an antibody-mediated attack is directed against the nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptors at neuromuscular junctions.1 About 85% of people with myasthenia gravis have antibodies to the ACh receptor, while the remaining 15% are seronegative. Although one is more common than…