Innovations-Magazine-February-2023 - 15

PROFESSIONAL AFFAIRS UPDATE
MAT Act Signed Into Law, NABP
Applauds Benefits for Overdose
Prevention Recovery Support
Shortly before the new year, President
Joseph R. Biden signed the Consolidated
Appropriations Act for 2023, which includes
significant legislation to address the worsening
overdose crisis. NABP applauds the passage
of the bill and its Mainstreaming Addiction
Treatment Act (MAT Act) provision, which
will remove federal barriers to accessing
medications for opioid use disorder, reduce
stigma, and increase access to lifesaving
treatment that prevents overdoses and
supports recovery.
The full news release is available at nabp
.pharmacy/newsroom/news.
FDA Compounding Quality Center
of Excellence Releases Self-Guided
Insanitary Conditions and Sterility
Assurance Course
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Compounding Quality Center of Excellence
released a new self-guided online course:
Insanitary Conditions and Sterility Assurance.
This course is designed to instruct pharmacists
and other health care professionals on how
insanitary conditions relate to sterility
assurance, the most encountered insanitary
conditions in nonsterile and sterile drug
production facilities and the consequences of
them, understanding the " systems approach "
to sterility assurance, and preventing
insanitary conditions as well as learning how
to identify, mitigate, and correct them. This
course counts four continuing education
units toward continuing pharmacy education
hours. Register for the course at www.train.
org/main/course/1092865.
DEA: Six Out of 10 Fentanyl-Laced
Fake Prescription Pills Contain a
Potentially Lethal Dose of Fentanyl
After inspecting fentanyl-laced illicit prescription
pills throughout 2022, Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) reported that six out
of 10 pills contain a potentially lethal dose
of fentanyl. According to DEA, this count
is an increase from last year's analysis, which
found that four out of 10 fentanyl-laced fake
prescription pills contained a potentially lethal
dose. Last year's DEA public safety alert reported
that two Mexican drug cartels were responsible
for developing the fake medications that appear
as the real prescription medications. DEA
continues to warn the public of the dangers
of fake prescription pills through its One Pill
Can Kill campaign. DEA's public safety alert
is available at www.dea.gov/alert/dea-laboratorytesting-reveals-6-out-10-fentanyl-laced-fakeprescription-pills-now-contain.
Researchers
at USC Develop
Interactive Map Identifying
'Pharmacy Deserts'
At the University of Southern California
(USC), researchers created an interactive
nationwide mapping tool that highlights
the locations of pharmacies in relation to
communities and identifies areas that are
" pharmacy deserts " or have a pharmacy
shortage. According to the analysis, one in
four neighborhoods - representing millions
of Americans - have a pharmacy shortage.
Pharmacy deserts were identified as areas
that did not have a pharmacy within 10
miles for rural areas; within two miles in
suburban areas; within one mile in urban
areas; or within a half-mile in neighborhoods
that are low-income and have low vehicle
ownership. Besides showing pharmacy
shortages, the map can provide a framework to
promote accountability, such as ensuring that
pharmacies are fully stocked with medicines
and have the capacity to provide essential
services to communities with a limited number
of pharmacies. Additional details about the
interactive mapping tool can be found at
https://news.usc.edu/203228/usc-map-identifiespharmacy-deserts/.
Fentanyl
'Vaccine' Developed by
Researchers May Be New Tool for
Combating Opioid Overdoses
Researchers at the University of Houston
are developing a " vaccine " that could stop
the opioid fentanyl from entering the brain.
This vaccine is able to produce antifentanyl
antibodies that bind to the consumed fentanyl
and remove it from the body through the
kidneys. Furthermore, individuals injected
with the vaccine would not experience the
euphoric effects of fentanyl. The antibodies
in the injection target fentanyl only and
do not cause any cross-reactions with other
opioids, thus allowing treated individuals to
still take other opioids for pain relief. Current
testing on immunized rats revealed that the
injection did not generate any adverse effects.
More information about the development of
the fentanyl vaccine can be found at https://
uh.edu/news-events/stories/2022-news-articles/
november-2022/11142022-fentanyl-vaccinehaile-kosten.
DEA's
October 2022 Take Back
Day Collected 647,000 Pounds
of Unneeded Medications
More than 647,000 pounds of unneeded
medications were properly disposed of during
DEA's biannual National Prescription Drug
Take Back Day. On October 29, 2022, nearly
5,000 collection sites were set up across the
country. There are also options for year-round
disposal, most commonly at disposal kiosks.
When using NABP's Drug Disposal Locator
Tool, consumers can enter a zip code, city, or
state and find the nearest drug disposal site.
Read DEA's press release at www.dea.gov/
press-releases/2022/11/14/dea-teamsmore-4300-partners-remove-unneededprescription-medications.
FDA
Releases Webinar
on NDC Formats
FDA has published the webinar Proposed
Rule: Revising the National Drug Code Format
and Drug Label Barcode Requirements. This
webinar suggests adopting a single, uniform
12-digit format for FDA-assigned National
Drug Codes (NDCs) to minimize the
possibility of FDA running out of 10-digit
NDCs. The 12-digit format will include
three distinct and consistent segments.
Furthermore, the webinar discusses revising
the current drug product barcode label
requirements. Watch the webinar at www
.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/
proposed-rule-revising-national-drug-codeformat-and-drug-label-barcode-requirements11172022?utm_medium=email&utm_
source=govdelivery.
FEBRUARY
2023 | 13

https://www.dea.gov/alert/dea-laboratory-testing-reveals-6-out-10-fentanyl-laced-fake-prescription-pills-now-contain https://uh.edu/news-events/stories/2022-news-articles/november-2022/11142022-fentanyl-vaccine-haile-kosten https://nabp.pharmacy/news/news-releases/mat-act-signed-into-law-nabp-applauds-benefits-for-overdose-prevention-and-recovery-support/ https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2022/11/14/dea-teams-more-4300-partners-remove-unneeded-prescription-medications https://news.usc.edu/203228/usc-map-identifies-pharmacy-deserts/ https://www.train.org/main/course/1092865/ https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/proposed-rule-revising-national-drug-code-format-and-drug-label-barcode-requirements-11172022?utm_medium=email&utm_source-govdelivery

Innovations-Magazine-February-2023

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