When the FDA put a black box warning on tofacitinib in 2021, the message was blunt: more heart attacks, more cancers, and more blood clots. The warning came from the ORAL Surveillance trial, which followed over 4,000 patients with rheumatoid arthritis already at high cardiovascular risk. Compared to TNF blockers, patients on tofacitinib had:
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Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) has become a topic of significant debate among clinicians, policymakers, and the public due to differing views on its safety, pharmacology, and regulatory requirements. A recent article raises important concerns about kratom’s pharmacological actions, potential for addiction, psychiatric risks, and regulatory challenges. Although the goal of protecting public health is admirable, it is crucial that discussions around kratom are rooted in current scientific evidence and avoid …
With over 270 active drug shortages and growing global instability, the United States must protect itself from a worsening crisis in cancer care. The fragile supply of generic chemotherapy drugs like cisplatin, which is important for treating bladder, lung, and testicular cancer, could collapse if geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan escalate further. To preserve this diminishing supply, the U.S. must reduce its overreliance on Indian pharmaceutical manufacturing and …
In my years as a physician on the front lines of addiction and pain medicine, I have never encountered a medication as transformative as buprenorphine (Suboxone). I have seen patients, broken by years of opioid addiction, have their lives change within an hour of their first dose, ready to reclaim a life they thought was lost. For these patients, buprenorphine is as essential as insulin is for a person with …
Bridgett Brown, a resident of California, developed breast cancer from using brand-name and generic versions of the antipsychotics Risperdal (risperidone) and Zyprexa (olanzapine) says a new lawsuit from the Wisner Baum law firm.
Neither Brown or her two prescribing physicians knew or “had reason to know” that the drugs could cause breast cancer since the drug manufacturers “obfuscated and disclaimed such risks while promoting these dangerous, expensive drugs over safer, …
Why Indian pharmaceutical companies run the risk of driving up U.S. consumer drug prices when scaling too quickly: the diseconomics of scale.
Why the U.S. looks to India as a global supply chain hub for medications
India’s pharmaceutical industry saves U.S. consumers billions, but scaling too fast is a mistake. Premature scaling through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is not just unsustainable, it is reckless and a recipe for inefficiency, error, and rising …
The day I first watched ketamine lift a human being out of despair, I was standing in a quiet room at the National Institute of Mental Health. The fluorescent lights hummed, the monitor ticked, and a young adult who had been drowning for months came up for air. Hours, not weeks. That speed rewired me as much as it rewired their brain. In the early 2000s, most of us were …
Funding from direct-to-consumer (DTC) “ask your doctor” drug ads has captured news media outlets and all but blocked important health stories like these. Read on.
1. “Hormone replacement therapy” (HRT) is back.
It is said that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, and nowhere is this more evident than the re-marketing of HRT to menopausal women who do not remember the first debacle (which increased the risk …
Every 24 hours, at least one person dies from a preventable medication error. Every hour, countless others suffer complications that could have been avoided with better systems. Yet despite billions invested in health care technology and training, these numbers are not improving.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: We have been solving the wrong problem.
For decades, health care has treated medication errors like individual failures — a tired nurse, a distracted doctor, a …
In recent years, kratom, a botanical herb indigenous to Southeast Asia, has surged in popularity across the United States.
Marketed aggressively online and sold openly in vape shops, convenience stores, and specialty herbal outlets, kratom is often portrayed as a natural remedy, an herbal escape from chronic pain, anxiety, and opioid withdrawal. But beneath the alluring veneer of wellness and relief lies a dangerous, largely unregulated substance capable of causing severe …
The FDA is failing rare disease patients. I’m one of them.
I’ve been on elamipretide for three years now. It is the only treatment that has made a meaningful difference in my life with primary mitochondrial myopathy—a degenerative genetic condition that impairs how my cells convert food and oxygen into energy. Mitochondria provide over 90 percent of the energy our bodies need; when they fail, the highest-demand tissues—like muscle, brain, and …
More than 78 million Americans rely on Medicaid or CHIP for their health care. Yet many still cannot access FDA-approved digital therapeutics because their state does not include them in covered benefits.
Prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) are software-based treatments authorized by the FDA. They are delivered through smartphones or tablets and are used to manage conditions such as substance use disorder, ADHD, diabetes, and chronic insomnia. For people who face long …
In today’s evolving health care environment, value-based care is reshaping the future of medicine. The push toward value-based care demands innovative, cost-effective, and patient-centered solutions. A promising yet underutilized strategy is medicine repurposing, the practice of using existing medicines for new therapeutic purposes. Drug repurposing provides a strategic pathway to improving health outcomes while minimizing costs. A compelling example of this approach is the use of clonidine, a long-established cardiovascular …
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I won’t be using CVS pharmacies anymore. Sure, I may still need to send prescriptions their way as a physician—but as a consumer, I’m done.
Why?
CVS has recently implemented a new phone system that forces callers to leave a voicemail instead of waiting on hold. The idea is to streamline operations, letting pharmacy staff return calls when they have time. It’s supposed to manage call volume, reduce wait times, and shield …
In 1971, President Nixon initiated a battle that would reshape the United States: The War on Drugs. As a key part of that campaign, he enacted the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which authorized the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to categorize modern-day controlled substances into 5 “schedules” based on their “medical use, potential for abuse, and safety or dependence liability.” They range from Schedule I, which are substances with no …
It is said that 57 percent of U.S. doctors receive drugmaker/industry funding and 66 percent of U.S. adults are now on prescription drugs. Any correlation?
Drug ads now cast such a wide “symptom net,” comedian Chris Rock said he expected to hear, “Do you fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning? You might be suffering from ….”
Here are six ways drugmakers hijack U.S. medicine
Diagnosing. Once upon a time …
As a health care professional, I’ve often observed how one critical aspect of medication safety and efficacy gets overlooked: food-drug interactions.
Every day, we prescribe and dispense powerful medications — but what patients eat alongside those medications can completely alter their effects.
This isn’t just a pharmacy concern. It’s a multidisciplinary issue that deserves greater attention from physicians, pharmacists, and patient educators.
The physician’s role: Asking the right questions
We often do a solid …
The importance of diversity in clinical trials is well-documented, yet unfortunately the lack of diversity still occurs at an alarming rate. As a result, we continue to have less effective treatments, poorer health outcomes, one-size-fits-all medicine that falls short of many patients, and many more negative impacts on health care.
The reason for lack of diversity in clinical trials is similarly known, with language barriers, limited access to health care facilities …
Rifaximin, a minimally absorbed antibiotic, has become a cornerstone therapy for several gastrointestinal disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) and hepatic encephalopathy. Despite its established use, access to rifaximin varies significantly across global markets, with cost barriers posing challenges in some regions. In contrast, in many Asian countries, the same medication is available at a fraction of the price, raising important questions about pharmaceutical pricing practices and access …
Imagine waking up one morning to a bold headline screaming: “New Global Law: All Antidepressants Abolished!” Just like that, no more Prozac, no more Zoloft—no more of those little pills that have helped millions keep their balance while navigating life’s emotional tightrope. Pharmacy shelves are wiped clean overnight, and suddenly, one of the pillars of modern mental health care is gone.
Before you clutch your chest and start breathing into a …
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