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…

By: Elizabeth Kopec, PharmD Candidate c/o 2014, South University School of Pharmacy at Columbia, SC – Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a global pandemic, with approximately 35.3 million people infected in 2012. The United States currently has 1.3 million people living with HIV, with 20,000 deaths occurring every year due to acquired immune deficiency syndrome…

By: Ada Seldin, Staff Editor – On August 12,2013, a new weapon against HIV-1 infection was added to the existing armada. Dolutegravir, the third integrase strand transfer inhibitor to attain FDA approval, targets a protein essential to HIV replication. HIV-1 is the predominant type of HIV virus, the other being HIV-2, which is endogenous to…

By: Steve Soman, PharmD – India has become a powerhouse in pharmaceutical manufacturing, often supplying generic alternatives at a fraction of the brand name cost to the developing world. Cheaper alternatives make costly drugs more affordable for poorer nations and NGOs.1 Indian manufacturer Biological E. Limited, a biotech firm based in Hyderabad India, signed a…

By:  Christina Tarantola, PharmD, PGY-1 Resident at Kings Pharmacy – The New York State Department of Health issued a health advisory on November 8, 2012 in response to Hurricane Sandy. The document outlined guidelines on recommended immunizations and disaster relief efforts for volunteers and the general public. Due to an increased risk of exposure to…

By:  Maria Sorbera, PharmD Candidate c/o 2013, AMSCOP, LIU – Hepatitis C is the leading cause of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, presenting a global health challenge.  Approximately 170 million people worldwide, 3% of the population, are infected with the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), roughly 3.2 million of whom reside in the United States.  The…

By: Steve Soman, Co-Editor-in-Chief – Varicella Zoster Immune Globulin (Varizig®) was approved by the FDA on December 21st of 2012. The Canadian pharmaceutical company Cangene Corporation, which is owned in-part by Apotex Inc., markets the new product.  The drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce “the severity of chicken pox…

By: Jayoung Park, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – Traditionally, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients have generally been excluded from organ transplantation.1  One of the principal concerns was that immunosuppression would accelerate HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), resulting in increased mortality and a “waste” of organs.1 A study entitled, “Opportunistic Infections and Neoplasms Following Liver and…

By: Mahdieh Danesh Yazdi – Many pharmacists were disappointed that New York was the 49th state to allow pharmacists to immunize in December 2008. Even then, the state legislature limited pharmacists to administering the influenza vaccine and the pneumococcal vaccine to those 18 years and older. There is now some exciting news from Albany. The…

By: Alisha Kumar, PharmD Candidate c/o 2012 – HIV transmission via organ transplantation is rare in the United States. However, after a public health investigation in 2010, a case of HIV transmission via kidney transplantation was confirmed. The kidney recipient had no history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), injection drug use, sex with injection drug…

By Ebey P. Soman – TNF-alpha inhibitors are drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis, as well as other disease states. These agents suppress the immune system and increase the risk of developing serious infections. Currently, there are five approved drugs in this category: • Adalimumab (Humira®, Abbott) • Certolizumab pegol…