
Patients who received a pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccination had slightly lower incidence of severe COVID-19 outcomes, but the directions of these associations were mixed.

Luke Halpern is an associate editor with Pharmacy Times. Luke wrote for Pharmacy Times in the summer of 2023 and assumed a full-time role in June 2024. His work has been featured in Pharmacy Times and the American Journal of Managed Care. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in May 2024.

Patients who received a pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccination had slightly lower incidence of severe COVID-19 outcomes, but the directions of these associations were mixed.

The new indication expands administration methods for the combination of efgartigimod alfa and hyaluronidase-qvfc, which are already approved for the treatment of some immune-related conditions.

When used in combination with background statin therapy, AZD0780 resulted in major reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and achievements of guideline-recommended LDL-C goals.

In a survey among community pharmacists in South Carolina, many pharmacists were unable to correctly identify proper pneumococcal vaccination guideline, raising concerns.

Monetary incentives to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at a public vaccination event may have inadvertently turned away others from receiving a booster, emphasizing the importance of recognizing spillover in trials addressing vaccine hesitancy.

Nilufer Ertekin-Taner contrasts current one-size-fits-all Alzheimer disease treatments with the promise of precision medicine and emphasizes the vital role of collaborative, multidisciplinary care.

The HERCULES trial demonstrates tolebrutinib's potential to slow disability progression in non-relapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, offering a new treatment option for patients with limited therapeutic choices.

Pharmacy professionals gathered at the American Pharmacists Association 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition and discussed critical insights in interviews with Pharmacy Times®.

Kara Melmed, MD, emphasizes the critical importance of rapid, team-based intervention for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients, with pharmacists playing a key role in blood pressure management.

Pharmacists are essential navigators in the complex landscape of gene therapy.

Kayla Johnson, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP, highlights how integrating pharmacists into neurology clinics drives significant cost savings, high intervention acceptance rates, and improved care coordination.

Stephanie Miller, PhD discusses how artificial intelligence can revolutionize medical research by assisting in drug development and potentially providing more targeted treatments across various diseases.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogs demonstrate potential to address multiple pathological processes in Alzheimer disease, with promising early research suggesting cognitive improvements and potential for future treatment.

Andrew Charles, MD, outlines why calcitonin-gene-related peptide (CGRP) antagonists are increasingly favored as first-line migraine treatments and how pharmacists play a key role in patient education and support.

A study led by Kayla Johnson, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP found that integrating specialty pharmacists into non-multiple sclerosis (MS) neurology clinics led to significantly enhanced patient care and treatment outcomes.

Nilufer Ertekin-Taner outlines how embracing the biological complexity of neurodegenerative diseases can guide the development of precision therapies akin to those used in oncology.

The new designations span both warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia and IgG4-related disease, 2 rare, immune-mediated conditions that burden patients due to a lack of available treatment options.

Compared with the original dose regimen, an antithrombin-based dose regimen of fitusiran was associated with an improved safety profile.

Notably, high levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were not associated with the risk of dementia following adjustments for triglyceride levels.

Positive results from an interim analysis of the phase 3 ALIGN study bolstered atrasentan towards receiving accelerated approval for patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy, a rare condition that can cause kidney failure.

Nicolas Girard, MD, explains the benefits observed in the MARIPOSA clinical trial among patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with amivantamab plus lazertinib.

These new phase 3 results indicate the effectiveness of the 2-dose 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and 1-dose PCV20 regimens.

Evolving breast cancer risk models and prevention methods are necessary to improve patient outcomes, according to Sagar Sardesai, MD.

Given rituximab’s tendency to cause infections in patients being treated for autoimmune diseases, the addition of intravenous immunoglobulin works to reduce that risk and induce clinical improvements.

Pharmacists play a key role in COVID-19 management by educating patients on treatment, monitoring drug interactions, promoting vaccination, and addressing hesitancy.

Effective management of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related toxicities requires early intervention, evolving guideline adherence, and multidisciplinary collaboration, with steroids remaining a key treatment.

Experts discuss Project Lifeline’s integration of SBIRT in community pharmacies, highlighting its effectiveness in identifying and addressing opioid use disorder while exploring strategies for broader implementation.

PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors are now standard for early-stage non-metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and perioperative strategies improving survival and outcomes.

Approval of durvalumab is in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin as neoadjuvant treatment for adults with muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Approval of fitusiran, a small interfering RNA drug, was found effective in patients with hemophilia regardless of inhibitor status.