The expanding role of the specialty pharmacy team in ca...
April 1, 2019 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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… |
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Treatment of initial and recurrent Clostridium difficil...
February 1, 2019 - Clinical , Featured By: Joseph Eskandrous, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a gram-positive, anaerobic, sporogenic bacterium that is primarily responsible for antibiotic-associated diarrhea and is a significant nosocomial pathogen.1 Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is triggered by toxin production from the bacteria. Normal bacterial flora is disrupted when the colon is colonized with C. difficile… |
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Targeting biomarkers in immuno-oncology: current agents...
December 1, 2018 - Clinical , Featured By: Jonathan Mercado (PharmD Candidate c/o 2019), Rebecca Sin (PharmD Candidate c/o 2019) Immuno-oncology is an advanced and rapidly growing area of research focused on utilizing the body’s immune system to help fight cancer. Immunotherapy has demonstrated clinical efficacy and unprecedented rates of response in treating specific cancers, usurping the classical approach to chemotherapy and… |
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The importance of medication therapy management (MTM) i...
October 1, 2018 - Featured , Professional Advice / Opinions By: Shivani Shah, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021 Medication therapy management (MTM) is a service provided by pharmacists to eligible patients who participate in a Medicare drug plan, namely part D. The geriatric population, which is included among the aforementioned eligible patients, is prone to taking numerous medications as they tend to have multiple disease states… |
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Concierge pharmacy practice: RxVIP and your future...
August 1, 2018 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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… |
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Pushing competition and affordability with biosimilars...
June 1, 2018 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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… |
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Presentation and management of nivolumab (Opdivo®)-ind...
June 1, 2018 - Clinical , Featured By: Shireen Farzadeh, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – Nivolumab (Opdivo®) is a monoclonal antibody that blocks programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1). PD-1 plays an important role in the immune checkpoint cascade. It is indicated for the treatment of melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, non-small cell and small cell lung cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and… |
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An analysis of collaborative drug therapy management an...
April 1, 2018 - Featured , Professional Advice / Opinions By: Shireen Farzadeh, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM) began as a three year demonstration project in 2012. It was extended and passed as a bill in September 2015 by the New York State Assembly and Senate and signed into law by the Governor Andrew Cuomo. The CDTM authority was initially… |
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Assessing the current treatment recommendations for Gra...
February 1, 2018 - Clinical , Featured By: Natalie Rodriguez, PharmD Candidate 2019 Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences and Stacey Gorski, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences – PRESS SUMMARY The most common cause of hyperthyroidism, or an over-active thyroid, is an autoimmune disease known as Graves’ disease. In patients with Graves’ disease, the immune system attacks the thyroid gland… |
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Digital sensors in drugs and how they will impact pharm...
February 1, 2018 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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,… |
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Pharmacists’ role in flu emergencies...
February 1, 2018 - Featured , Professional Advice / Opinions By: Yao Jiang, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – While each flu season comes and goes, the 2017-2018 flu season caught health care professionals by surprise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this season’s flu activity was the most widespread since the 2009 influenza pandemic caused by the influenza A (H1N1) virus,… |
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An overview of “leadership” in pharmacy education...
December 1, 2017 - Featured , Professional Advice / Opinions By: Shivani Shah, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021 and Jagannath Muzumdar, PhD Associate Professor Pharmacy – Pharmacy Administration and Public Health – INTRODUCTION The Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE), in its most recent pharmacy education outcomes report, has called attention to the lack of personal and professional development of pharmacy students. In what… |
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Safety and efficacy of a new drug: sofosbuvir/velpatasv...
October 1, 2017 - Clinical , Featured By: Shireen Farzadeh, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir (Vosevi®) is the first pangenotypic fixed-dose combination tablet that includes 400 mg of sofosbuvir, a Hepatitis C virus (HCV) nucleotide analog, 100 mg of velpatasvir, an HCV NS5A inhibitor, and 100 mg of voxilaprevir, an HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitors.1,2 In the interest of brevity, sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir will… |
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FDA approves tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah ™): first gene...
October 1, 2017 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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… |
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The future of pharmacy at our fingertips...
October 1, 2017 - Featured , Professional Advice / Opinions By: Gabrielle Flavoni, PharmD Candidate c/o 2018 – Pharmacists have always been deemed one of the most accessible health care providers in the community, especially to those who cannot often travel long distances. Over the years, many retail pharmacies began offering delivery services for prescription medications, specifically for the elderly and disabled. However, delivery services… |
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The Prior Authorization Process and its Effect on Patie...
June 1, 2017 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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… |
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Pharmacy Lobby Day 2017, A Student’s Perspective...
June 1, 2017 - Featured , Professional Advice / Opinions By: Zachary Reale, PharmD Candidate c/o 2018 – Every April, pharmacists and pharmacy students from all across New York State gather in Albany for Pharmacy Lobby Day. The event, organized by the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York (PSSNY), is held in collaboration with many other New York State pharmacy associations including the… |
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The function and efficacy of pimavanserin (Nuplazid®) ...
April 1, 2017 - Clinical , Featured By: Jonathan Mercado, PharmD Candidate c/o 2019 – In April 2016, the FDA approved the first drug specifically indicated for the symptoms of psychosis associated with Parkinson’s disease (PDP).1 Currently, clozapine and quetiapine are used off label to treat symptoms associated with Parkinson disease such as voices in patients’ heads, various hallucinations and delusions. In… |
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A review on potassium iodide in radiological disasters...
April 1, 2017 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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… |
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Biosimiliars: how will they affect the pharmacoeconomic...
April 1, 2017 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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%… |
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The Importance of Inhaler Education: A Comprehensive Re...
February 1, 2017 - Clinical , Featured By: Jack (Hongkai) Bao, PharmD Candidate c/o 2018 – Inhalers are one of the most prescribed therapies used to treat respiratory disorders in patients. Anticholinergics, β-agonists, and corticosteroids are all packaged into a miniature device that patients must use correctly every time to ensure delivery of their medication. To complicate matters, a myriad of inhaler… |
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Medication Delivery: There’s an App for That...
October 1, 2016 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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… |
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Pharmacists’ Standpoint on Possible Changes to Profes...
February 1, 2016 - Featured , Professional Advice / Opinions By: Victoria Chirico, PharmD Candidate c/o 2018 – From I-STOP surveillance to vaccine administration, many changes have been made in the world of pharmacy, with more to come. Whether these changes are for the better or worse, they define the roles of a pharmacist in our world today. As the role of a pharmacist is… |
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The Importance of Counseling and its Impact on Medicati...
February 1, 2016 - Featured , Professional Advice / Opinions By: Sherin Pathickal, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016, Rahul Patel, PharmD Candidate c/o 2017, and Sierra Swaby, PharmD Candidate c/o 2020 – The pharmacy profession is changing within the healthcare system by making pharmaceutical care one of its main responsibilities. Pharmaceutical care does not adhere to the way that pharmacists have traditionally practiced, but instead requires… |
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Better Understanding the Link between Myasthenia Gravis...
February 1, 2016 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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… |
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Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Treating a Mystery...
November 1, 2015 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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… |
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Cytisine: Another Option for Smoking Cessation...
October 1, 2015 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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… |
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Seeing is Believing: A Look at VEGF Inhibitors for Diab...
June 1, 2015 - Featured , In the News / Politics 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,… |
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Smartphone Applications for Pharmacy Students...
May 1, 2015 - Featured , Professional Advice / Opinions By: Hayeon Na, PharmD, Co-Copy Editor [Content-focused] – Going through the PharmD curriculum and working as a student pharmacist, I often wished that I could somehow connect my brain to all the wonderful pharmacy resources I had at home or in my bag. I don’t doubt that you’ve also had a variation of this idea… |
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How Many Drugs is Too Many?...
March 1, 2015 - Featured , In the News / Politics How Many Drugs is Too Many? By: Caitlyn Cummings, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 and Ruby Lee, PharmD Candidate c/o 2017 – In Dina Spector’s Business Insider article, “The World’s 2nd-Smartest Man Reveals The ‘Brain Drugs’ That He Thinks Make Him Smarter,” the daily medications taken by Rick Rosner, said genius, are revealed.1 There are unsubstantial… |
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Harvoni™ – First Combination Pill to Treat Hepa...
February 1, 2015 - Featured , In the News / Politics By: Sebanti Bhowmik and Elissa Tam, PharmD Candidates c/o 2015 – On October 10, 2014, the Food and Drug Administration approved ledipasvir-sofosbuvir (Harvoni™) to treat chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection in adults. Harvoni™, marketed by Gilead Sciences, consists of Gilead’s sofosbuvir (Sovaldi™) and a new drug, ledipasvir.1 Harvoni™ is the first combination… |
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The Difference in Guanfacine Formulations for ADHD...
December 1, 2014 - Clinical , Featured By: Katharine Cimmino, Editor-in-Chief – Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common pediatric psychiatric disorder, and it affects the education, social interactions, and over-all wellbeing of both children and adolescents.1 Symptoms of ADHD can persist into adulthood, and those with this disorder are more likely to suffer from other mental health co-morbidities.2 According to guidelines… |
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FDA Defends Generic Drug Labeling Plan...
December 1, 2014 - Featured , In the News / Politics By: Nancy Simon, PharmD c/o 2016 – Last November, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submitted a proposal for a Generic Drug Labeling Plan. This new plan will allow generic drug companies to use the same process as the one used by brand drug companies to update their medication labels to reflect new safety information.1… |
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Accountable Care Organizations...
November 1, 2014 - Featured , In the News / Politics By: Stephanie Chiu and Elissa Tam, PharmD Candidates c/o 2015 — According to the Dartmouth Atlas project, health care spending in the United States has risen dramatically and yet health outcomes are not improving; meanwhile, many other countries that spend far less per person than the United States have better health outcomes.1 Studies have since… |
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Anticoagulation in Pregnant Women: Which Medications ar...
October 1, 2014 - Clinical , Featured By: Diana Gritsenko, PharmD Candidate 2015 – Multiple complications can arise during pregnancy. While venous thromboembolism (VTE) has a prevalence rate of just 0.06% it is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality. It is recommended that at-risk pregnant women receive anticoagulation therapy for a minimum of 3 months and VTE prophylaxis for the… |
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Combating Counterfeit Drugs...
October 1, 2014 - Featured , In the News / Politics By: Azia Tariq, Staff Editor – With the sale of counterfeit drugs reaching an alarmingly higher rate than ever, The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in collaboration with the Skoll Global Threats Fund, the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the multi-agency… |
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HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis...
September 1, 2014 - Clinical , Featured By: Elissa Tam PharmD Candidate c/o 2015 – HIV/AIDS continues to be a persistent problem in the United States and in various countries around the world. In 2010 alone, there were around 47,500 new HIV infections in the United States with about 1.1 million Americans living with HIV at the end of 2010.1 When left… |
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St. John’s Pharmacy Students Get Involved for NYC Wor...
September 1, 2014 - Events , Featured By: Kenny Ng, STJ AMCP Chapter President, PharmD c/o 2017, Kenny Chan, STJ AMCP Chapter President-Elect, PharmD c/o 2017, Davidta Brown, Senior Staff Editor – While those who work tirelessly to combat the spread of Hepatitis B and C never have a day off, there is one day in the year during which special attention… |
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Pediatric Hypertension...
August 1, 2014 - Clinical , Featured By: Anthony Botte and Tyler Valente, PharmD Candidates c/o 2016 – Diseases which are prevalent within the pediatric population require distinct protocols for treatment accompanied by the utmost care and precision. Pediatric hypertension (HTN) is one disease state in particular that has come to the forefront of medical practice in the United States over the… |
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The Role of Pharmacists Expanding into the Emergency Ro...
August 1, 2014 - Featured , In the News / Politics By: Sherin Pathickal, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – In 2006, the Institute of Medicine reported that over 1.5 million people in the US suffered from a medication error, errors that not only cost the economy billions of dollars, but endangered countless lives.1 Each year, approximately 7,000 deaths occur to due to preventable medication related errors.2… |
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Tailored Tablets...
August 1, 2014 - Featured , In the News / Politics By: Azia Tariq, Staff Editor – Truly personalized medication is the goal of researchers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries. For example, when a patient requires a precise dose that is not manufactured as a tablet, the tablet will be broken up in order to deliver the dose as close as possible. Not only is… |
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DIA: 50th Annual Meeting 2014...
August 1, 2014 - Events By: Melissa Roy, Co-Copy Editor [Graphics Focused] – DIA stands for Drug Information Association. It is an organization that strives to provide both educational and professional development opportunities for individuals working in pharmaceutical and medical product development-related fields, as well as a global, unbiased forum for the exchange of information across multiple disciplines of programming… |
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HIMSS Conference NYC...
July 1, 2014 - Events By: Sean Caltabiano PharmD Candidate c/o 2015, Minjoo Park PharmD Candidate c/o 2015, & Elissa Tam PharmD Candidate c/o 2015 With special thanks to Dr. Vibhuti Arya, PharmD, Assistant Clinical Professor, St. John’s University, the Primary Care Information Project, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Queens, NY. – As part… |
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Pharmacy Lobby Day...
June 1, 2014 - In the News / Politics By: Melissa Roy, Co-Copy Editor [Graphics Focused] – During Pharmacy Lobby Day, pharmacists and students from all over New York gather at the capitol in Albany to meet with various members of Congress to discuss the state of pharmacy. This year, similar to previous years, a group of students and faculty from St. John’s University… |
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I Have a Problem...
June 1, 2014 - Featured , Professional Advice / Opinions By: Sang Hyub Kim, DPM Candidate c/o 2018, New York College of Podiatric Medicine – I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2009. For the past five years, I have literally taken tons of immunosuppressant medications, ranging from corticosteroids (prednisone), to chemotherapeutics (6-Mercaptopurine) in an effort to suppress the inflammation in my colon. Currently, I… |
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Brown-Bag Event...
May 1, 2014 - Events , Featured By: Hayeon Na, Co-Copy Editor (Content Focused) – On February 26th, 2014, pharmacists, clinical faculty, and pharmacy students from St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences gathered at the Freeport Memorial Library for a “Brown Bag,” one of the yearly calendar events at the public library. This event was conducted through the joint… |
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New Strides in Lupus Treatment...
April 1, 2014 - Featured , In the News / Politics By: Daniel Mathan, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016, Anita Kachappilly, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016, & Amrita Singh, PharmD Candidate c/o 2015 – Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a debilitating autoimmune disease that affects multiple organs in the body and can potentially become life threatening.1 The incidence of SLE is about 50 cases for every 100,000 people; it… |
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Riociguat (Adempas®) New Drug for Pulmonary Hypertens...
April 1, 2014 - Clinical , Featured By: Hayeon Na, Co-Copy Editor [Content-Focused] – On October 8th of 2013, Bayer’s new drug riociguat (Adempas®) was approved for the treatment of patients whose pulmonary hypertension (PH) belongs in WHO groups 1 and 4.1 Riociguat (Adempas®) is a soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator, and currently the only one of its kind on the market.… |
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The Surgeon General’s 2014 Report on Smoking...
April 1, 2014 - Featured , In the News / Politics By: Ada Seldin, Staff Editor – Since the first release of the Surgeon General’s Report on smoking 50 years ago, it has become clear that smoking results in premature death and a myriad of diseases, affecting almost every organ system. Public health initiatives to increase awareness, prevent initiation, and promote smoking cessation have been marginally… |
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New Legislation Redefines Oversight for Compounding Pha...
April 1, 2014 - Featured , In the News / Politics By: Davidta Brown, Senior Staff Editor – As the world of healthcare and its provision evolves, laws which organize and oversee the ways that patients receive health services must develop at the same pace. Last November, a new bill establishing clearer protocol for the compounding and tracking of medications became national law. The Drug Quality… |