An excerpt from Inside The Orphan Drug Revolution: The Promise of Patient-Centered Biotechnology. Pre-revolutionary stirrings Every revolution rises up against an order in need of reform. For the orphan drug revolution, that order was the pharmaceutica…
“Fentanyl Vaccine a Potential ‘Game Changer’ for Opioid Crisis,” declares a Medscape headline. “Fentanyl Vaccine Delivers Promising Results in Trial,” reports an industry website. “A Vaccine Against Deadly Fent…
Less than a year ago, a position paper/meta-analysis was published whose authors concluded that the pain reliever acetaminophen, and products containing this compound, were contraindicated in pregnancy as they could result in premature or stillborn bir…
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) represents one of the most promising developments in psychiatry in decades. The treatment typically involves the infusion of a compound such as LSD, psilocybin, or MDMA during an extended therapy session with licensed…
Everyone knows the terrible toll the opioid epidemic takes on our society. It doesn’t matter where you live and how wealthy or educated you are, no one is immune. I watched as a colleague tried to help a child struggling with addiction, spending …
It’s a public health win that on October 19th, an FDA Advisory Committee voted 14-1 to remove Makena, a drug intended to prevent preterm birth, from the market. The FDA usually follows the advice of its advisory committee, and the briefing docume…
The American Cancer Society released its annual report on cancer statistics, showing that we have made clear and significant progress in treating numerous forms of cancer. The overall rate of death has declined steadily since 1991, translating to over …
You’ve been swallowing things your entire life: breast milk (or formula), food––maybe a marble or small Lego. But did you know that swallowing pills is different? Let’s start with how not to swallow a pill. Sorry, but Bruce Willis in all fi…
Since the development of antibiotics in the 1940s, patients presenting with an infection could be expected to respond quickly to a prescribed course of antibiotics by their physician. While the antibiotic prescription model has helped countless lives, …
I wondered whether to recommend Nuedexta for my elderly relative with worsening Alzheimer’s disease and daily spontaneous crying. Often she would deny feeling sad and couldn’t account for her sobbing. Avanir Pharmaceuticals released Nuede…
