As technology and automation continue to advance, pharmacies are in need of pharmacy technicians who specialize in informatics to help implement and troubleshoot innovations as they evolve. The problem? There is no defined, direct career path to becoming one. 

Some gabapentin oral solutions, a medication for seizures, restless legs syndrome and shingles, are currently in shortage, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. 

A prostate cancer drug candidate from Pfizer and Astellas Pharma reduced the risk of metastasis or death by 58 percent in a phase 3 trial, the two drugmakers said April 29. 

With dozens of experimental gene therapies floating down the research and development pipeline, here are five candidates grabbing headlines: 

Teva Pharmaceuticals recalled 13 lots of fentanyl buccal tablets, a Type II substance, because of omitted safety updates on its medication guide, the FDA said April 28. 

Florida Rep. Cory Mills and California Rep. Sara Jacobs filed a bill April 28 that, if passed, would require drugmakers to tell the FDA if they experience a six-week-long demand increase for a product. 

Upward of 90 percent of PharmD graduates from Ada-based Ohio Northern University were placed in residency matches, according to an April 28 news release. 

As the U.S. grapples with a 10-year-high of ongoing drug shortages, there are three pressing drug supply issues for hospitals, according to Erin Fox, PharmD, associate chief pharmacy officer for shared services at Salt Lake City-based University of Utah Health. 

With hundreds of experimental gene therapies in the pipeline and development, Eric Tichy, PharmD, division chair at Mayo Clinic and an expert in the pharmacy supply chain, told Becker's he wonders who will pay for these drugs that cost seven figures each. 

Bristol Myers Squibb's CEO plans to retire Nov. 1, and the drugmaker promoted two C-suite leaders effective immediately, according to an April 26 news release. 

The FDA approved the first fecal microbiota drug to be taken orally.

Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. decreased 35 drug prices April 26, according to a news release shared with Becker's. 

The FDA added penicillin G benzathine to its drug shortages list April 26. The drug is the standard treatment for syphilis and is also used to treat strep throat. 

Clinical leaders know drug shortages are nothing new, but the current situation is incredibly challenging. Ongoing and active shortages are the highest since 2014, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).1

Akorn Operating Co., a Gurnee, Ill.-based drugmaker that closed all operations in late February, issued a nationwide recall of all lots of 84 drugs it made because the shutdown discontinued its quality measures. 

Remdesivir was nonfederal hospitals' costliest drug expense two years in a row despite a 58.1 percent drop in expenditures from 2021 to 2022, according to research published April 24 in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy.

GoodRx co-founders Doug Hirsch and Trevor Bezdek are transitioning from their roles as co-CEOs, the company said April 25.

The FDA approved Qalsody (tofersen), a drug intended to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with a rare mutation called the superoxide dismutase 1 gene, on April 25.

Nonfederal hospitals' costs have hovered around $35 billion to $40 billion since 2018, and in 2023, overall prescription drug spending is expected to be about $38 billion, or a 1 percent to 3 percent increase from the prior year. 

Ohio Northern University and Clarkson University have teamed up to offer pharmacy doctoral candidates an accelerated track that will allow them to simultaneously earn a master's of business administration degree — or another option — upon graduation.