Buzz Newsletter 4/16/2026

Welcome to the April 16 edition of the GPhA Buzz Newsletter.

 

This weekly round up of pharmacy news and information is a member benefit, and if you are having difficulty receiving all GPhA emails, please whitelist our domain as well as glueup.com. You can find instructions for that on our website here.

The FDA approved labeling changes to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) back in February, and the industry is reaping the benefits. Since FDA Commissioner Marty Makary started last year, almost 32 million prescriptions for estradiol have been written, up from 18 million the year prior. 

 

Warning labels on HRT have been around for years but were based on research from 2002 in women over the age of 60. Most women enter perimenopause in their late 40s and do not experience the same risks from HRT as older women. 

The "Ketamine Queen" who provided Matthew Perry with his lethal dose of ketamine, Jasveen Sangha, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for her role in his death in 2023. Perhaps it signals a new age of holding drug dealers accountable for the many overdose deaths that occur every year. 

 

We went down a rabbit hole with a bunch of ketamine questions and found this article (and podcast) about its history, uses throughout the years, and current uses in treating depression. Anesthesiologists like it for many reasons, but outside the operating room it is a little more volatile, as reaction is directly related to dosage. It's also safer for some patients than propofol. 

 

Just some fun things we learned and wanted to share. 

As so many of our members and staff are in Washington, DC this week for the NCPA Fly-In event, our thoughts turned to PBM reform. 

 

We think about PBM reform a lot, as it's a critical missing piece of keeping all pharmacies healthy and operational. The PBMs impact all of pharmacy in Georgia, and as you know GPhA has been working on legislation for years. Several of our neighbor states have been successful in getting a variety of bills passed. 

 

However, they are all running into issues at the federal level. This article from Axios is a great primer on why that is happening. 

Filspari was approved by the FDA this week to treat children and adults with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). The drug is already approved for IgA neuropathy, so this latest approval adds to the list of approved treatments. 

 

The daily pill daraxonrasib almost doubled the length of survival in pancreatic cancer patients in its phase 3 trials. According to Revolution Medicine, the manufacturer, the drug cut the risk of death by more than 60% versus chemotherapy. 

 

Adding a new investigative antibody drug to Keytruda is showing promise in early results, with progression-free survival at more than seven months and overall median survival at almost 19 months. 

 

The 2026 Georgia Pharmacy Convention brings together hardworking pharmacists, pharmacy owners, technicians, and decision makers looking to expand their knowledge and improve their practice of pharmacy. 

 

Join 300+ of your colleagues and friends for a week full of insightful CE courses, lunches, and networking on beautiful Amelia Island. We are working hard to build the full schedule now, and can't wait to see you all June 18-21! 

 

Spring Region Meetings are being scheduled, and we have a lot of amazing plans for our members, thanks to the hard work of our Region Presidents. 

 

You can find the full list and registration links here, but in the meantime, here are the Regions with set dates and locations: 

 

Tuesday, April 21 @ 6:30pm 

Piedmont Brewery, Griffin 

 

Sunday, April 19 @ 1pm 

American Axes, Marietta 

 

Thursday, April 16 @ 6pm 

Bearfoot Tavern, Macon 

 

Tuesday, April 21 @ 7pm 

J&D Designs and Cafe, Douglas