It's no wonder people question the reliability of the news media when you see such derogatory headlines as "Homegrown Hormone Therapy: How Safe?", "Fight brews over natural vs. synthetic hormone treatments", "Pharmacists fight to compound drugs", etc. These headlines have a similar meaning to the question, "Do you still beat your wife?"

What is even worse is that in many cases the "facts" of the story are not "facts" at all but in many cases are "misinformed and inaccurate opinions." As an example, a recent article stated the following:

"�when she came across pamphlets at her local pharmacy promoting hormone replacement therapy based on 'bio-identical' drugs-compounds whose ingredients are touted as replicating the body's own hormone secretions."

Maybe the individual making that statement needs to think about what she just said. Doesn't "bioidentical" mean that the hormones are CHEMICALLY AND BIOLOGICALLY IDENTICAL to those in the body? They are not TOUTED as replicating the body's own hormone secretions, they are THE SAME AS the body's own hormone secretions.

This article goes on to say:

"The word 'safe' is what bothers me," this individual stated as she threw up her hands in disgust. "How can they make those claims?"

First of all, I don't think pharmacists are making the "claims"; they certainly cannot advertise making these claims. Second, the physician must prescribe the bioidentical hormones for the patient, not the pharmacists. Therefore, why all the venom-spouting at pharmacists? Why not direct it at physicians also? Physicians prescribing bioidentical hormones are aware of their advantages, etc. and have seen the results in their patients with and without hormone therapy (both bioidentical and nonbioidentical).

This article goes on to call compounding pharmacies a "shadow industry." What in the world is that? One would think that compounding pharmacists are "lurking in the shadows" ready to pounce on anyone coming by! This individual does not realize that compounding has been around for thousands of years. Compounding is the way all intravenous drug admixtures are prepared, many nuclear pharmaceuticals are prepared, as well as most pediatric dosage forms, dermatologicals, etc.

This type of journalism is designed for its shock-appeal, to sell newspapers, online news, television and sound-bites, etc. It makes one think that the days of the news media, as they currently practice their trade (as it is definitely not a profession), should be limited. It would be nice to get unbiased news reporting so you could believe what you read�but maybe that is asking too much.

Oh, the individual making those statements that quoted above is Wyeth's vice-president for women's health!

Loyd V. Allen, Jr., Ph.D., R.Ph
Editor-in-Chief

This Regulatory Update has been provided by the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists. For more information, www.iacprx.org.

IACP Testifies at AMA Annual Meeting in Chicago
Allergy Coalition members introduced a disparaging resolution at the recent meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA). IACP submitted written comments against the proposal and testified before the AMA Reference Committee. IACP also worked with APhA and others to demonstrate that the proposed AMA policy would not be in the best interest of patient health. The committee elected to recommend the issue to AMA's board of trustees for further consideration. IACP will seek to dialogue with AMA to ensure that any future proposed policy adopted by AMA allows pharmacies to meet the prescription needs of patients.

Don't Forget! Submit Your USP Comments
Please remember to review the new draft of USP Chapter <797> (sterile compounding) and submit your comments to the United States Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention. The deadline for submitting comments is August 15, 2006. When submitting comments to USP, please send IACP a copy of your comments so we can ensure that your concerns are included in our filing. USP has several resources available to you - including a copy of the draft chapter, comment submission forms, a guidebook, webinars and more - at www.usp.org/USPNF/pf/generalChapter797.html.

IACP Fighting Pro-Wyeth Hit Piece
We want to take a moment to share with you a story on BHRT published in this week's issue of BusinessWeek: www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_26/b3990070.htm. IACP worked extensively with the reporter in advance of the story, and we arranged for her to speak with Terry Scarborough, chief counsel for the Midland coalition, and one of our members who did not end up being a part of the story.

We are extremely disappointed with the result. The story is biased, irresponsible, and even unethical. It mischaracterized the nature of compounding, the nature of our marketing practices, the role of the FDA, and the interests of our critics. The article also left out many critical pieces of information. For example, it failed to note that "FDA specialist" Edward John Allera is actually a lobbyist for many pharmaceutical companies and associations that have a vested interest in restricting compounding. We will be working with the editors of BusinessWeek in the coming days to address this travesty of journalism.

There have been 60 citation abstracts with 25 citations on the subject of acne and 32 on interstitial cystitis added to CompoundingToday.com's literature search database this week. Here is a sampling of them:

Acne

• Ceilley RI. Advances in the topical treatment of acne and rosacea. J Drugs Dermatol 2004; 3(5 Suppl): S12-S22.
• Del Rosso JQ. The role of the vehicle in combination acne therapy. Cutis 2005; 76(2 Suppl): 15-18.
• Del Rosso JQ, Tanghetti E. The clinical impact of vehicle technology using a patented formulation of benzoyl peroxide 5%/clindamycin 1% gel: Comparative assessments of skin tolerability and evaluation of combination use with a topical retinoid. J Drugs Dermatol 2006; 5(2): 160-164.
• Simonart T, Dramaix M. Treatment of acne with topical antibiotics: Lessons from clinical studies. Br J Dermatol 2005; 153(2): 395-403.
• Tanghetti EA. Combination therapy is the standard of care. Cutis 2005; 76(2 Suppl): 8-14.

Interstitial Cystitis

• Anderson VR, Perry CM. Pentosan polysulfate: A review of its use in the relief of bladder pain or discomfort in interstitial cystitis. Drugs 2006; 66(6): 821-835.
• Dell JR, Parsons CL. Multimodal therapy for interstitial cystitis. J Reprod Med 2004; 49(3 Suppl): 243-252.
• Muthusamy A, Erickson DR, Sheykhnazari M et al. Enhanced binding of modified pentosan polysulfate and heparin to bladder - a strategy for improved treatment of interstitial cystitis. Urology 2006; 67(1): 209-213.
• Nickel JC, Barkin J, Forrest J et al; Elmiron Study Group. Randomized, double-blind, dose-ranging study of pentosan polysulfate sodium for interstitial cystitis. Urology 2005; 65(4): 654-658.
• Parsons CL. Advances in the treatment of interstitial cystitis. Expert Opin Pharmacother 2006; 7(4): 411-419.

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Slide Show for your Pharmacy

Put an old computer to use in marketing your pharmacy.

1. Take pictures using a digital camera of your pharmacy and compounding activities.
2. Transfer the pictures to the computer.
3. Open the folder containing your photos.
4. Click the View as a Slide Show link in the Picture Tasks pane.

This should create a full-screen slide show of all the pictures you have taken. Also, you can easily add and remove pictures each week as you want to highlight different activities in the pharmacy. In addition, with a small amount of extra equipment, you can add more monitors and spread the message throughout your facility.