Canada Soccer a définitivement coupé les ponts avec la sélectionneuse de l’équipe féminine Bev Priestman.

Une ancienne boîte de poulet St-Hubert, retrouvée par hasard dans l’entretoit d’un chalet, a été remise à la famille Martin en échange d'un don.

Le Bloc Québécois trône toujours en tête, à 35% des intentions de vote, selon un sondage Léger-Le Journal-TVA.

The province says the move comes "after years of AIMCo consistently failing to meet its mandated benchmark returns." For now, Finance Minister Nate Horner has been appointed the AIMCo board's sole director and chair. Senior public servant Ray Gilmour has been appointed interim CEO.

A lockout at the Port of Montreal began Sunday night. The CEO of the Montreal Port Authority says if the dispute between dockworkers and the Maritime Employers Association drags on, it will have disastrous consequences for the economy.

While public transit in many Canadian cities is struggling with rising fares and falling ridership, one Ontario community has more than doubled its transit use in the past two years. Orangeville has made its buses free, joining a list of much larger communities that have gone fare-free.

An internal report on workplace racism and harassment at the highest levels of the federal public service shows that not even the federal government’s top executives are immune from the problem.

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says the International Criminal Court should investigate the disappearance of Indigenous children from Canadian residential schools.

SURFING legend Kelly Slater has revealed how miserable he was starring alongside Pamela Anderson on Baywatch.

Les spectateurs québécois auront encore l’embarras du choix durant le temps des Fêtes.

James Van Der Beek s’est ouvert sur son combat contre le cancer.

Geoff Molson, Kent Hughes et Martin St-Louis avaient promis que le Canadien de Montréal serait dans le «mix» cette saison.

La ville de Québec pourra compter sur des prestations du groupe La Bottine Souriante et de la DJ belge MATTN pour l’amener en 2025.

Elle tiendra la vedette de l’adaptation québécoise du succès mondial Ménopause aux côtés de Claudine Mercier, Catherine Sénart et Geneviève Charest.

GOT a hankering for bacon? The best bacon from across Australia has been judged at Australian Bacon Week.

INCREASES in prices for some crops will help boost the value of Australian farm production to $58.5 billion next financial year.

They can cost hundreds of pounds, but are these products actually worth the money?

Campaigners want to stop the Rosebank oil and Jackdaw gas fields, but oil companies say they are vital.

A review of Labor’s City of Sydney council campaign finds earlier preselections and better policies are needed.

New research suggests the ­majority of businesses expect to be hit with energy price rises again this year.

Centrelink’s controversial data-matching program will be ‘refined’ as pressure mounts for it to be suspended.

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe will arrive in Sydney tomorrow for a weekend meeting with Malcolm Turnbull.

THE mercy rule was applied as table toppers Norwest Polecats posted a 54-4 victory over Cumberland Beavers in their NSW Tertiary Rugby League game at Kellyville on Saturday.

HE was spotted playing soccer in a park by a talent scout on holiday in Uruguay at age 15. Now Andrew Alvarenga has made the first grade side at top division soccer’s Club Atletico Cerro.

The office of the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade (CLA DGFT) has announced an Export Obligation Discharge Certificate (EODC) Camp scheduled from November 11 to 22, 2024. The camp is

The secretary of the Union Ayush Ministry, Dr Rajesh Kotecha, will inaugurate the 61st Ayurveda Seminar organized by the Kottakkal Aryavaidyasala (Kottakkal AVS) on November 10 at Kottakkal in

Raising deep concern over the partnership between Swiggy Instamart and PharmEasy for a rapid drug delivery model, the All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has apprised the Drug Controller

As part of the National Pharmacy Week (NPW) celebration, the Kerala Private Pharmacist Association (KPPA) is organizing a high─impact webinar series from November 17th to 23rd, connected by the common

The Indian Council of Medical Research─National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (ICMR─NICPR) is set to launch its first─ever DHR─funded National NICPR─ECHO online certificate course on cervical

The recent amendments brought by the Union Ministry of Ayush to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 are significant, as they introduce new regulatory requirements for the manufacturing and sale of traditional

Election polls are increasingly vulnerable to huge mistakes

The 2024 presidential election will have enormous consequences for the climate, and the health and future of children

Pesky leaks on the International Space Station aren’t the most serious issue facing U.S. human spaceflight

The discovery of a new prime number highlights the rising price of mathematical gold

Analysis of a strain of the virus circulating in Central Africa shows genetic mutations indicative of sustained human-to-human spread

Efficient machines, paper ballots and human checks make the U.S. voting system robust

This year won’t just be the hottest on record—it could be the first to surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Paris climate accord aims to keep warming below that level when looking over multiple years

Is your kid in trouble? Blaming their friends is ill advised

The 3.2-million-year-old human ancestor known as Lucy rose to fame through an incredible combination of circumstances

Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a magneto-responsive hydrogel wound dressing that also contains two different regenerative cell types. The hydrogel is also embedded with magnetic particles that can be stimulated using an external magnetic field. The action of the magnetic field on the gel-encapsulated particles causes mechanical stresses within the gel […]

Today’s guest post comes from Josh Marsh, Vice President and General Manager, Sonexus™ Access and Patient Support at Cardinal Health

Josh discusses challenges manufacturers may face when outsourcing patient support programs. He outlines a process that smoothly transitions hubs and minimizes disruptions for patients and healthcare providers.

To learn more, download the 3-step guide to patient hub transitions.

Read on for Josh’s insights.
Read more »

Autumn is here! Curl up with your favorite pumpkin-spiced blog and savor these acorns that we’ve squirrelled away for you:

• Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicines gives a peek inside its $43 billion gross-to-net bubble

• Optum Rx joins the private label biosimilar bandwagon

• Biosimilars boom for provider-administered drugs

• Fresh evidence of how copay accumulators hurt patients

Plus, words of wisdom from Cencora's soon-to-be-former CEO Steve Collis.

P.S. Join my more than 58,000 LinkedIn followers for daily links to neat stuff along with thoughtful and provocative commentary from the DCI community.

There’s still time to request an invite to the inaugural Drug Channels Leadership Forum. Attendance will be highly limited. We have already begun extending invitations, so apply now to be considered. Click here to view the full agenda.

Read more »

As regular readers of Drug Channels know, U.S. distribution and dispensing channels for prescription drugs are undergoing significant evolution and consolidation as the changing economics of pharmaceuticals challenge conventional business models.

During this period of volatility, the core business model of the Big Three public pharmaceutical distribution companies—Cardinal Health, Cencora, and McKesson—remains intact. Put simply: Buy low, sell high, collect early, and pay late.

But as I explain below, wholesalers continue to position themselves as essential intermediaries by expanding their industry position and strengthening their economic fundamentals.

Read on for five key pricing, pharmacy, provider, and manufacturer trends that are driving the U.S. drug wholesaling industry.

For even more, check out DCI's new 2024-25 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors, the fifteenth edition of our deep dive into wholesale distribution channels.Click here to download a free report overview (including key industry trends, the table of contents, and a list of exhibits)
Read more »

Today’s guest post comes from Greg Skalicky, President, EVERSANA and Faruk Abdullah, President, Professional Services & Chief Business Officer, EVERSANA

Greg and Faruk walk through the marketplace pressures driving Direct-to-Patient commercialization models. They argue that a technology-enabled infrastructure,  combined with clinical and reimbursement support specialists, can improve  patients' access to new therapies, shorten the time to therapy, and enable better overall clinical outcomes.

Click here to learn more about EVERSANA’s Direct-to-Patient care model.

Read on for Greg and Faruk’s insights.
Read more »

Reality has again failed to support the spin surrounding the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

For 2023, discounted purchases under the 340B program reached a record $66.3 billion—an astounding $12.6 billion (+23.4%) higher than its 2022 counterpart. The gross-to-net difference between list prices and discounted 340B purchases also grew, to $57.8 billion (+$5.5 billion). 340B purchases are now almost 40% larger than Medicaid’s prescription drug purchases.

Hospitals again accounted for 87% of 340B purchases for 2023. Purchases at every 340B covered entity type grew, despite drug prices that grew more slowly than overall inflation.

Lobbyists claim that manufacturers’ 340B contract pharmacy changes are “stripping billions of dollars from the healthcare safety net.” But every year, the data tell a very different story. Only in the U.S. healthcare system can billions more in payments and spreads be considered a cut.

Read on for full details and our analysis, along with fresh details of troubling behavior by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Read more »

Today’s guest post comes from Shabbir Ahmed, Chief Commercial Officer at CareMetx.

Shabbir explains the barriers that providers face when dealing with branded portals for multiple products. He then maintains that patients can access new therapies more quickly when the manufacturer relies on a brand-agnostic hub connected to a large network of providers and integrated with the systems those providers use daily.

To learn more, download CareMetx’s new 2024 Patient Services Report: Revealing Manufacturer Priorities: Patients Naturally Take Center Stage.

Read on for Shabbir’s insights.
Read more »

Eeek! It's time for Drug Channels’ Halloween roundup of terrifying tales to share with your ghoulish fiends. This month’s tricks and treats:

• Spooky! Blue Shield of California frightens away the gross-to-net bubble with its Humira biosimilar strategy

• Vampiric! Prior authorization sinks its fangs into providers’ time

• Wicked! How the IRA will put a stake through specialty physician practices

• Eerie! Google’s monstrous AI podcasts leave me petrified

• Zoinks! Join the vampire hunters at Drug Channels Institute

Plus, Dr. Glaucomflecken tells us a frightening tale of copayments.

P.S. Stretch out your arms and join the ever-growing zombie horde who shamble after me on LinkedIn. You’ll find my ghostly rantings along with commentary from the undead hordes in the DCI community.
Read more »

Today’s guest post comes from Chris Dowd, Senior VP of Market Development at ConnectiveRx.

Chris examines three key trends that will affect patient support programs: the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), legal/regulatory battles over copay adjustment programs, and uncertainties following a national election. He then outlines three actions that should guide manufacturers' preparation.

To learn more, register for ConnectiveRx’s free webinar on December 11: The Perfect Storm? Patient Support Programming in 2025 and Beyond.

Read on for Chris’s insights.
Read more »

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted a video:

¿Qué son los biosimilares? Los biosimilares son un tipo de medicamento que se usa para tratar una variedad de afecciones, como enfermedades crónicas de la piel y los intestinos, artritis, diabetes, afecciones renales, degeneración macular y algunos tipos de cáncer. Un biosimilar es un tipo de medicamento biológico. La mayoría de los medicamentos biológicos se elaboran usando fuentes vivas, como células animales, bacterias o levaduras. Debido a que en su mayoría provienen de fuentes vivas, todos los tipos de productos biológicos tienen diferencias menores que ocurren naturalmente entre los lotes de producción. Así como los medicamentos de marca tienen versiones genéricas, los biológicos originales pueden tener biosimilares. La cuidadosa revisión de datos, estudios y pruebas por parte de la FDA ayuda a garantizar que los productos biosimilares brinden los mismos beneficios de tratamiento que el producto biológico original aprobado por la FDA. Los biosimilares pueden brindarle más acceso a tratamientos importantes y también pueden ahorrarle dinero, dependiendo de su cobertura de seguro. Se han aprobado muchos biosimilares diferentes y se esperan aún más. Para obtener más información, visite www.fda.gov/biosimilars

On December 3, a federal appeals court ruled against one of the FDA’s untouchable restrictions on industry—thou shalt not promote the off-label use of pharmaceutical products. An industry that is little interested in constitutional law suddenly finds itself talking about the First Amendment and whether, and on what grounds, the case will be appealed. Meantime, the court’s decision left FDA Matters torn between cheering and booing. Patients are poorly served if their doctor is prescribing drugs without being able to tap into all sources of relevant knowledge. However, permitting off-label promotion undercuts the incentive for companies to thoroughly investigate the safety and efficacy of a drug for a second or third use.