At AAPS, we’re always interested in the changing way that medical services are provided. We touched on phenomena of full service pharmacies before, and this looks like a trend that’s not going away. While the basic role of a pharmacist is to dispense prescribed and over the counter medications, as well as provide oversight of patient health by watching for conflicting medication, providing additional pharmaceutical quality control when it comes to dose levels and making sure that customers are educated about the hows and whys of the medications they take, full service pharmacies offer everything from smoking cessation and weight.. READ MORE »
We’ve talked extensively about pharmaceutical careers, but it’s important not to forget one of the other job paths at AAPS: Food safety training for food preparation and manufacturing. Every living person eats. As a result, food safety is a concern for everyone, at every level of the process, from first production to kitchen and all the way to the plate. It is unlikely that you would find a restaurant without food safety certification. In Canada, federal level regulation comes from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, while individual provinces and municipalities prefer to add their own oversight. Food quality assurance and.. READ MORE »
Astellas Pharma Canada has launched a BC campaign to build public awareness of their new incontinence treatments. Although both drugs are approved for sale in the country, currently neither has the approval for subsidy by BC’s Pharmacare. Rather than reaching out to the government via direct lobbying, Astellas is trying another solution and has launched a nationwide incontinence awareness campaign, “It’s Urgent” While every drug that’s approved in Canada can be sold in Canadian pharmacies, what the average consumer does not know is that not all pharmaceuticals are equally subsidized. Because Canadian health care is the responsibility of the province,.. READ MORE »
After the World Health Report launch for 2013, the WHO is calling on countries to improve their investment in local research to help develop better universal health coverage plans. Even in countries that prefer a more privatized system than Canada, governments have a strong role to play in making sure that health standards are maintained. There are many reasons for this. For example making sure that everyone eligible in a population receives vaccinations to childhood illnesses provides “herd immunity” meaning that if a disease is introduced into the population (for example, from a country that does not have the presence.. READ MORE »
China announces it is deepening its ongoing fraud investigation into the pharmaceutical industry. The probe seeks to make the Chinese market more competitive, removing corruption from the system to ensure that China’s standards for pharmaceuticals match the rest of the developed world. Although revelations of bribery and regulation evasion sound like a PR nightmare, in practice, it is part of the necessary growing pains to encourage more companies to invest in the country. While many major pharmaceutical companies have offices in the world’s most populous nation, including Eli Lily, Astra Zenca and Pfizer, and have had established footholds for decades,.. READ MORE »
The international pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, has announced a plan to break its entire structure into three segments, two focused on their Innovative line and one on their Value line. Pfizer employs nearly 3,000 Canadians in six locations across the country, and was ranked one of Canada’s top 100 employers for 2012 in a Globe and Mail survey. With products ranging from Celebrex to Chapstick, Pfizer has decided that the split will allow it the flexibility to function as three separate business entities. This is expected to come into effect in 2014, starting with countries that do not require prior union.. READ MORE »
In this year’s “Report Card on Cancer in Canada”, the Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada praises the progress of cancer research, but asks that Canadians be given better access to these lifesaving treatments, as well as more emphasis on preventative techniques. In the fight against cancer, successfully targeting the disease means acknowledging that cancer is not a single external problem, but the result of numerous internally manufactured accidents in the cancer patient. Some are facilitated by contaminants like smoking, but today’s smart cancer treatments are tailored to figuring out and targeting the kind of cancer that has affected the patient… READ MORE »
The Fraser Institute, a leading Canadian public policy think tank, has joined the chorus of voices asking to extend the life of Canadian pharmaceutical patents. Their report, released this month, suggests that trade with the US and Europe would be streamlined by making the Canadian system more in unity with the two other markets. At the moment, Canada has some of the shortest patent lifespans for a developed country. Discussion on the subject is divided over whether this encourages more internal clinical research and treatment development, or less. Critics of short patent length say it makes the entire sector lose.. READ MORE »
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine) jobs are generally considered to be a vital part of the economy, and one of the hottest sectors for employment and education investment. As an added bonus, STEM offers a unique chance for female researchers and inventors to be on the cutting edge of this century’s new discoveries. Biological and life sciences are experiencing a global boom. From newer and better life extending and improving treatments and technologies, to expanding the understanding of the human body and its potential, medical technology that was science fiction a decade ago is taken for granted. Discoveries in.. READ MORE »
A new drug regulation was recently announced in Canada, this time controlling the packaging. That’s the Plain Language Labelling Initiative, which will be an overhaul of how drugs are described on their boxes and bottles. This new initiative aims at altering guidelines for better clarity. While pharmaceutical quality control can ensure that the contents of a package provide exactly the results they’re supposed to, it’s of equal importance to make sure healthcare professionals and consumers are also picking the right products. That means universal standards to prevent confusion between very similarly named or packaged drugs, oversight that is expected to.. READ MORE »
