Maternal immunization with 2 doses of vaccine was 97% and 53% effective against infant hospitalization from delta and omicron variants, respectively. The effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing infant hospitalization declined by nearly 20% after 16 weeks. Receiving the second dose in the third trimester yielded the greatest benefit.

Sibutramine, a serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine reuptake inhibitor, can cause an increase in heart rate and blood pressure that may place individuals with cardiovascular disease at risk.

The every-other-month intra-ocular injection shows a reduction in lesion growth that increases over time. The ocular formulation of the drug, previously approved for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, should be available in specialty pharmacies in March 2023.

To assist retail pharmacies in filling the care gap left by physician shortages and transitioning to an effective, patient-centric clinical services business model, real-time communication and seamless data sharing among pharmacists, diagnostic providers, physicians, and patients are required. Linking the care team in a way that allows for not only efficient care delivery but also efficient provider billing with full interoperability will be critical to pharmacies’ long-term success as clinical service providers.

Mike Serbinis, CEO of League; Pete Anevski, CEO of Progyny; John Erwin, CEO of Carenet Health; Mick Mazour, president of Carenet Health; BJ Schaknowski, CEO of symplr; Tanja Dowe, CEO of the Debiopharm Innovation Fund; Derek Streat, Co-founder and CEO of DexCare; and Kimberly O’Loughlin, CEO of Health Recovery Solutions, provide their thoughts on this year’s meeting, with value-based care, healthcare technology, hospital medicine, and the overall economy being the familiar strings.

According to Aimee Tharaldson, PharmD, a senior clinical pharmacist who spoke at the AMCP Nexus 2022 meeting, specialty medications continue to lead FDA approvals, with nearly half being developed for rare diseases. In 2023, many candidates will seek an orphan drug indication, which is a special FDA designation that provides tax credits for qualified clinical trials, exemption from user fees, and up to seven years of market exclusivity after approval. An estimated 7,000 orphan diseases exist.