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Coalition Aims to Help Prevent Abuse and Diversion of ADHD medications

Trending Now: Industry stakeholders band together to address medication misuse.

The Coalition to Prevent ADHD Medication Misuse (CPAMM) was formed to prevent the misuse, abuse, and diversion of ADHD prescription stimulant medication among college students and will take action by conducting relevant research and creating sustainable peer-to-peer interventions on college campuses.

Members of CPAMM include The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), The Jed Foundation, NASPA — Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, The BACCHUS Initiatives of NASPA, and Shire. CPAMM has also enlisted student advisors to help inform the coalition’s strategies, messaging, and programming in reaching college students.

Although reported rates of nonmedical use vary, a 2013 study at one large public university indicated that 9.3% of college students reported nonmedical use of prescription stimulant medication in the past year.

Recognizing that misuse, abuse, and diversion of ADHD prescription stimulant medication is a concern among college students, CPAMM has aligned on two strategic initiatives: research and educational programs.

Throughout 2014-2015, CPAMM plans to survey medical professionals to identify primary-care based strategies to help reduce ADHD medication misuse, abuse, and diversion. In addition, the coalition will conduct focus groups among college students and administrators to try to gain a better understanding of how the college environment affects the issue. With the results of this research, CPAMM intends to develop peer-to-peer interventions for use by college students to help prevent the nonmedical use of ADHD stimulant medications. Also, the coalition will evaluate potential partnerships with other organizations, associations, and programs that reach college students.

The CPAMM strives to be a trusted source and use its knowledge to make a difference and prevent the nonmedical use of these medications.

For more information, visit cpamm.org.

AbelsonTaylor Introduces Studio to Increase Engagements Using Video

AbelsonTaylor, one of the largest independent healthcare ad agencies in the world, is introducing a top-of-the-line studio that specializes in high-tech animation, online video, and film/video production as client demands for greater forms of engagement increase. The studio is named dose, which speaks of the agency’s ability to meet clients’ needs one dose at a time.

“Our clients are increasingly asking for more video engagement products," says Stephen Neale, senior VP and executive creative director for AbelsonTaylor. “Dose was created to fulfill those needs. Having a state-of-the-art studio in-house also adds another layer of expertise that we can offer."

“Video consumption and engagement are increasing rapidly, especially across mobile devices," adds Mitch Apley, senior director of broadcast productions for AbelsonTaylor. “With dose we’ll be able to execute not just social video marketing for mobile products, but also traditional forms of video, such as thought leadership and promotional brand stories."

Mr. Apley has been tapped to lead the studio. Before joining AbelsonTaylor two years ago, he was an executive producer for Resolution Digital Studios, which designs and delivers distinctive content for film, advertising, marketing, and corporate entities.

The introduction of dose points to the growing trend of video consumption. According to an Accenture 2013 consumer survey, almost 90% of U.S. consumers are watching video content over the Internet on any device. And mobile video sharing site Animoto reports that 71% of people who consume videos say they are more likely to have a positive view of companies that produce video content for their brands.

For more information, visit abelsontaylor.com/dose.

YourEncore Launches Center of Excellence to Guide Pharma Companies Through Complex Regulatory Requirements

YourEncore, a company that helps life-sciences, consumer products, and food companies solve complex innovation, compliance, and productivity challenges, has launched the Regulatory Center of Excellence, which provides industry-accomplished experts to guide life-sciences companies through complex regulatory requirements, from Phase I trials through approval.

The pharmaceutical market is becoming more heavily regulated, and the cost to life-sciences companies for drugs that fail during the regulatory phase is skyrocketing. According to a Datamonitor study that analyzed 346 new drug applications over a four-year period, 42% received a complete response letter (CRL), which resulted in a median delay in approval of 13 months.

“These delays are very expensive to life sciences companies, and often they can be avoided," says Tim Franson, M.D., YourEncore’s chief medical officer. “YourEncore’s regulatory experts have extensive therapeutic expertise in classic regulatory issues and have proven experience getting major drug and device approvals."

YourEncore has been providing regulatory expertise to life-science companies since its founding in 2003. Working closely with Dr. Franson, the Center of Excellence is further expanding the depth and breadth of available expertise, giving clients quicker access to a database of ready experts for targeted, customized solutions.

For more information, visit yourencore.com.

NIH Launches New Program to Find Potential Drug Targets

National Institutes of Health leaders have launched a new collaborative initiative to improve human health by exploring poorly understood genes that have the potential to be modified by medicines. The effort is part of an NIH Common Fund three-year pilot project called Illuminating the Druggable Genome (IDG).

For the initial phase of the program, NIH has awarded $5.8 million to eight institutions.

As many as 3,000 genes express proteins that could have their activities altered by medicines, according to predictions based on genomic information. Yet only about 10% of these so-called “druggable genes" are targeted by FDA-approved drugs. The IDG program is designed to address this gap by supporting research of understudied genes in four important druggable gene families: nuclear receptors, ion channels, protein kinases, and G-protein coupled receptors, often called GPCRs.

Initially researchers will delve into these uncharacterized genes and share what they learn on a public resource that will enable the larger scientific community to build on the findings with both basic research and clinical translation. They will also work to develop ways to rapidly identify and describe the genes they explore, creating a common language that can be applied across experimental systems, from individual cells to complex biological models.

The pilot awards include a grant to establish a Knowledge Management Center, led by the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque in collaboration with Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York, with support from other institutions.

Seven additional grants will support development of technology to understand functions of members of the four protein families. The institutions receiving these grants are: