Buzz Newsletter 2/5/2026

Welcome to the February 5th Edition of The Buzz Newsletter. This is a GPhA member-only benefit and we hope you enjoy this weekly round up of pharmacy news and information. 

 

GPhA memberships expired on December 31st, and if you haven't renewed your membership, please do so now. You are in a grace period that expires on FEBRUARY 28. Don't miss out on this newsletter, the Legislative Update, and your FREE CEimpact Pharmacist or Technician By Design CPE plans.

 

As a reminder, if you have been on auto renewal, you'll still need to renew your membership in our new software system, just this one time. 

The measles outbreaks continue, and have been confirmed in more states than not. In the continental U.S., only Mississippi has zero reported cases of measles. South Carolina's outbreak has hit 879 cases and climbing, with 29 new cases reported since January 30. Southern California has seen an increase in cases, including one at the Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim. That patient also landed at LAX prior to the visit. 

 

The Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas has been locked down as two cases of measles were confirmed in detainees at that center. And a private college near Naples has reported cases of measles in students, following confirmations at Clemson University and University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

 

So far in 2026, Georgia has only reported one new case in an infant too young to receive the MMR vaccine, who had recently traveled abroad. 

The FDA sent a rejection letter to AZ this week regarding the self-administered Lupus drug, Saphnelo. The monoclonal antibody medication is currently approved for administration via IV infusion in a doctor's office, hospital, or infusion center. Saphnelo SC can be administered by patients at home with the same clinical results. Neither the FDA nor AZ specified the reason for the rejection, but AZ said it is “committed to working with the FDA to progress the application as quickly as possible.” 

 

This week, the USDA started officially accepting applications to the FDA's new PreCheck pilot program, which according to the FDA press release, is "designed to strengthen the domestic pharmaceutical supply chain by increasing regulatory predictability, facilitating the construction of manufacturing sites in the U.S., and streamlining aspects of pharmaceutical manufacturing facility assessments in advance of a specific product application." That's a fancy way of saying the FDA wants to work with manufacturing facilities in the U.S. early and often in the design process, to encourage more development. 

 

Otsuka Pharmaceutical's new treatment for ADHD in all ages, centanafadine, made it to the FDA's priority review process last week. The drug is an NDSRI -- norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin reuptake inhibitor -- designed for once-daily extended release. Anyone who has treated patients with ADHD knows that a once-daily medication could be meaningful to those who often forget the second dose, or can't tolerate the multiple pill regimen sometimes needed to treat symptoms. 

 

The Phase 2b trial of Pfizer's GLP-1 receptor agonist is going well, according to the pharmaceutical company. Patients in this section of the trial kept losing weight after switching from weekly to monthly dosing. Good news for Pfizer, as they spent $10 billion acquiring obesity biotech company Metsera after a protracted bidding war with Novo Nordisk. 

Dads, take note: your parenting style can impact your children's future heart health. 

 

A new study shows that early parenting behaviors in fathers, including inattentiveness and other issues, can contribute to poor heart or metabolic health in children that could lead to bigger cardiovascular issues later in life. It all comes down to the causes of stress in the household and the father's reaction to those stressors. 

 

It's just one study, so far, in a world that has very little research on the impact of fathers on their children. 

It's bad enough to contract kidney disease. Now add in heart issues, a common development in patients with chronic kidney disease, and you're looking at a leading cause of death among kidney patients. More than half of all patients with advanced kidney disease will develop heart issues. 

 

So why do so many people with kidney disease have a high risk of heart failure? In addition to comorbidity issues like nutrition and weight, we can also blame the kidneys themselves. When damaged, they release molecules that are communicating with the heart with toxic results. Researchers are hoping that early detection of these molecules can allow for intervention and reduction in damage to the heart. 

An 80-year-old man in Great Britain has been jailed for running a counterfeit drug manufacturing organization worth almost $300 million. The novelty isn't that he's 80 and making fake diazepam in rural England. No, the real meat of this matter is that he funded the startup of that drug ring with his more than $2 million in lottery winnings. 

 

We're not sure that's going to make it on any of the adverts for the British Lottery. 

 

We imagine in some households, it would be nirvana to eat chocolate cake every single day. 

 

Not ours, we're not chocolate fans. Or cake fans, really. 

 

A healthy cookbook author says she makes and eats her chocolate cake recipe daily, and that it uses only one bowl and contains 18 grams of protein per slice. Rachel Riggs, the developer of the recipe, says it's indistinguishable from other, richer cake recipes even though it uses just almond flour, eggs, cocoa powder, maple syrup, baking soda and salt. 

Do you know a pharmacy student who is interested in independent community pharmacy? Have them apply for the $5,000 Jeff Lurey Independent Community Pharmacy Student Scholarship, awarded annually by GPhA and AIP.

 

The application can be found here and is due no later than February 21, 2026. 

 

The scholarship is open to any pharmacy student currently enrolled at Mercer, UGA, South University or PCOM in their P3 or P4 year (P2 or P3 at South) who is a current GPhA Student Member and has expressed interest in owning an independent pharmacy after graduation.