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: 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: 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: 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…

By: Gabrielle Plaia, PharmD Candidate Class of 2016 – On Oct. 27 2015, the Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of talimogene laherparepvec, referred to by its brand name ImlygicTM, with an indication for local treatment of melanoma lesions that cannot be removed completely by initial surgery. The drug was created by Amgen.1 This…

By: Svetlana Akbasheva, Staff Editor – Dabigatran etexilate mesylate (Pradaxa®) is an oral anticoagulant that functions as a direct thrombin inhibitor. Like other anticoagulants, this medication carries the risk of serious bleeding and must be stopped temporarily before any surgical procedures, with the length of time depending on a patient’s creatinine clearance and invasiveness of…

By: Svetlana Akbasheva, Staff Editor – Naloxone (Narcan®) is a rapid-acting, potentially life-saving drug for acute opioid overdose. An opioid antagonist, naloxone displaces opioids from their receptors and helps reverse their effects, the most dangerous of which is respiratory depression.1 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 22,000 deaths in the United…

By: Maryam Ahmed and Lyudmila Krivovyaz, Pharm.D Candidates, c/o 2016 – Each year, more than 795,000 Americans suffer from a stroke, with almost 130,000 of those resulting in death.1 Traditionally, warfarin sodium (Coumadin®) has always been the drug of choice for treatment and prevention of clot formation. Over the last couple of years, however, newer…

By: Benedette Cuffari, B.S. of Toxicology Candidate 2016 – Affecting 10%-15% of the population in Western countries, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is most often categorized by altered bowel habits involving chronic or recurrent diarrhea or constipation.1 IBS patients with chronic diarrhea, sometimes referred to as IBS-D, exhibit abdominal pain and/or discomfort in addition to loose…

By: Svetlana Akbasheva, Section Editor – Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating condition in which the lungs become thick and tough with scar tissue and progressively lose their ability to efficiently deliver oxygen to the blood.1 That the disease has no established cause can make diagnosis difficult. However, the 2011 ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT guidelines2 provide three…

By: Nancy Simon, PharmD Candidate 2016 – Many of you may have seen Kim Kardashian West’s Instagram posts – most of which are ‘selfies,’ but recently, a particular post caught the attention of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this past August 2015. Kim posted a picture with Diclegis® (doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine hydrochloride), claiming…

By: Holly Sokol, PharmD Candidate 2020 – Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) can occur due to antibiotics changing the elements of the gut and thereby, increasing an organism’s inhabitance. Diarrhea is common in as many as 40% of critically ill patients. An even greater problem is Clostridium difficile (antibiotics-associated) becoming a leading cause of mortality in hospital-related…

By: Sylva Ohanian, Staff Writer – The FDA recently approved aflibercept (Eylea®) injection for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME).1 Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and is a leading cause of blindness in American adults. It is generally characterized by changes occurring in the…

By: Andrew Leong, Staff Writer – Quitting smoking greatly reduces the risk of many diseases such as lung cancer, coronary heart disease, and stroke, all of which increase morbidity and mortality in patients. Currently in North America, there are three main pharmacological therapies used in the management of smoking cessation. The most recognizable one, nicotine…

By: Sang Hyo Kim, Section Editor – On April 28, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved aripiprazole, the generic of Abilify®.1 Aripiprazole tablets are used to treat patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.1 Although Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Abilify®, tried to block generic competition by requesting a temporary restraining order on one…

By: Azia Tariq, Section Editor – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved TissuGlu®, the first tissue adhesive approved for internal use. William Maisel, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Director of Science at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health states, “The FDA’s approval of the first synthetic adhesive for internal use will help some…

By: Andrew Leong, Staff Writer – Hyperkalemia is defined as a serum potassium level of greater than 5.0 mmol/L.1 In a majority of cases, the cause is renal in nature with over half of all patients with hyperkalemia suffering from chronic kidney disease.2 Other causes include an increase in diet potassium, tumor lysis syndrome, and…

By: Sylva Ohanian, Staff Writer – Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a serious yet treatable lung disease, which affects 210 million people worldwide and is expected to be the third leading cause of death in the world by 2030.1 Symptoms, such as wheezing and coughing, can negatively impact breathing, especially during daily activities.1, 2…

By: Irene Li, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – Postherpetic neuralgia is the most common chronic complication of herpes zoster that affects one million people annually in the United States.1 It is defined as dermatomal pain lasting at least 90 days after the appearance of an acute herpes zoster rash. The rash is usually unilateral. Although…

By: Nehali Parikh, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that results in interrupted neurotransmission throughout the body. It occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks myelin, the insulating layer surrounding nerve cells, causing the formation of scar tissue, called sclerosis. Fatigue, numbness, tingling, difficulty in walking, and dizziness are…

By: Sang Hyo Kim, Staff Editor – On March 19, 2014, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved miltefosine (Impavido®) for the treatment of leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by leishmania, a parasite that is transmitted to humans through sand fly bites. Although the majority of people affected with leishmaniasis are from tropical…

By: Svetlana Akbasheva, Staff Editor – For years, the medications that have been the mainstay of therapy for chronic heart failure have been angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (or angiotensin receptor blockers), beta-blockers, loop diuretics, and aldosterone antagonists, with the occasional addition of digoxin or the hydralazine/isosorbide dinitrate combination.1 Now, a novel medicine is trying…

By: Svetlana Akbasheva, Staff Editor –       Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS or Willis-Ekbom disease) is a condition that affects an estimated 2 to 3% of adults in the United States.1 Patients with RLS experience a strong urge to move the legs, which is more prevalent at rest and is usually alleviated by physical movement. Symptoms…

By: Benedette Cuffari, BS Toxicology Candidate, ‘16 – “Initial Prescription Free,” “FDA Approved,”  “Save Thousands!” and “Our Generic Drugs are Identical to Those Sold in the U.S.,” are some of the many advertising tools that thousands of websites around the world have been using to lure customers into buying illegal pharmaceuticals online. The U.S. Food…

By: Tyler Valente, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – A growing trend within our progressive society is the advancement of technology. Over the past few years, inventions that were mere fantasies just a decade or two ago have become a reality. Within the medical field, progress can be seen particularly in the development of medical devices.…

By: Jacqueline Chirico, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – A dilemma that many clinicians face when treating patients with cardiac problems is determining the appropriateness of initiating triple antithrombotic therapy. While this is appropriate in a select patient population, it is important to understand which patients fall in this category and what risks and benefits should…

By: Dimitrios Savva, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – Hypoparathyroidism is a rare disease that affects approximately 60,000 people in the United States.1 People diagnosed with hypoparathyroidism are characterized as having insufficient levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH).2 A person with this disease does not produce or secrete enough of PTH, leading to a decreased level of…

By: Svetlana Akbasheva, Staff Editor, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – Diabetes is one of the biggest health problems in the United States, with the 2014 National Diabetes Statistics Report stating that 9.3% of the population, or over 29 million people, has the disease.1 One of the major complications of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus is diabetic retinopathy,…

By: Maximilian Magun, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – While the harm in smoking is well known, quitting is easier said than done. Prescription and over-the counter nicotine replacement therapies (e.g. nicotine patch, gum, inhaler, nasal spray, lozenge), as well as oral tablets (e.g. Zyban™, Chantix®) have mediated success for some. In fact, when used correctly,…

By: Svetlana Akbasheva, Staff Writer – Aspirin 81 mg, or “baby” aspirin, has become almost ubiquitously known as being “heart-healthy” and for playing a role in preventing heart attacks and strokes. With cardiovascular disease reigning as the number one cause of death worldwide, more than 50 million adults in the United States currently take daily…

By: Galina Perel, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – Andexanet alfa’s has achieved great advancement in part one of the Phase 3 ANNEXA-A study conducted by Portola Pharmaceuticals. The study demonstrated the effects of andexanet alfa being the proposed antidote to the oral anticoagulant Factor Xa inhibitor: apixaban (Eliquis©).1 Apixaban received FDA approval in late 2012…

By: Maryam Ahmed and Tyler Valente, PharmD Candidates c/o 2016 – Diabetes Mellitus is a condition in which the body cannot properly maintain its blood glucose. There are two types of Diabetes Mellitus (DM), Type 1 and Type 2, which vary greatly but each have at the crux an inability to transport glucose into the…

By: Azia Tariq, Section Editor – Reported in March 2014, the current Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak has become the deadliest outbreak of its kind since the disease’s initial discovery in 1976. As of April 24, 2015, the epidemic has spread to numerous countries across West Africa including Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone resulting in…

By: Jacqueline Meaney, PharmD Candidate c/o 2015, University at Buffalo: School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences – Extended release naltrexone (XR-NTX), marketed as once-monthly IM Vivitrol®, is currently FDA approved for use in treating both alcohol and opiate dependence. Naltrexone is a mu-opioid receptor antagonist that blocks the euphoric effect of heroin and prescription opioids. Naltrexone…

Fifth Time’s a Charm? By: Sylva Ohanian, Staff Writer – Liraglutide (Saxenda®) has recently been approved by the FDA for the treatment of chronic weight management in adult patients.1 The indication is specified for those with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or greater (obese) or 27 kg/m2 or greater (overweight) in…

By: Fatima Elzin, PharmD Candidate c/o 2015 – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of asthma has risen dramatically in the past two to three decades.1 In the United States, 6.8 million children were diagnosed with asthma in 2012.1 Recent data suggests that this increase in children with asthma may…