Pharmacy Week in Review: Walgreens Launches Support Service for Cancer Patients, Eli Lilly to Sell Generic Version of Humalog

This weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings, and more.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Pharmacy Times News Network. I’m Nicole Grassano your host for our Pharmacy Week in Review.

Walgreens officials have announced the national launch of Feel More Like You, a first-of-its-kind beauty, health, and pharmacy service available at no cost to help people living with cancer manage the medical and physical changes associated with cancer treatment, Pharmacy Times reported. The national launch at more than 3,000 Walgreens stores follows a successful 100-store pilot program that began in spring 2018. Feel More Like You was developed in collaboration with Look Good, Feel Better Foundation, a cancer support organization focusing attention on the appearance and beauty needs of cancer patients, and Cancer Support Community, the largest professionally led, nonprofit network of cancer support worldwide. More than 12,000 Walgreens pharmacists have received special training to recommend OTC products to help manage treatment adverse effects, such as dry mouth, increased fatigue, mouth sores, and skin rash.

Eli Lilly and Company has announced a lower-priced version of its insulin lispro injection (Humalog) 100 units per milliliter for the United States market, Contemporary Clinic reported. This medication, indicated for individuals with diabetes, will have a list price that is 50% lower than its current list price. The lower-priced version will be called Insulin Lispro—the same molecule as Humalog—and will be available in vial and pen options. The list price of a single vial will be $137.35. The list price of a five-pack of pens by Eli Lilly will be $265.20.

For the first time, researchers and their collaborators at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in England have compared cancer genes in mucosal melanoma in dogs, horses, and humans, Specialty Pharmacy Times reported. The study, published in Nature Communications, described how researchers sequenced genomes of the same cancer across the species in order to determine the key genes, to gain insights into how the cancer evolves and to guide the development of new therapies. By using the genomic data from 65 canine, 28 equine, and 46 human melanoma tumors, all in the primary stage of cancer, scientists found common genes in all species. Mucosal melanoma results from melanocytes, the cells that are responsible for producing pigment found in skin as well as mucosal surfaces, such as the mouth, nasal passages, and sinuses.

Pharmacists may get more questions about Theraworx Relief, if their patients have seen a new commercial for the OTC product. In the spot, called “Naomi: Muscle Cramps,” a woman says she had been suffering from muscle cramps for as long as she can remember. But, according to the commercial, after using Theraworx Relief twice a day, Naomi was relieved to find a topical solution.

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Thanks for watching our Pharmacy Week in Review. I’m Nicole Grassano at the Pharmacy Times News Network.