Staying #Up2Date 🚨

1: Clearing Acne and Concerns about Growth

A cross-sectional study of ~380K individuals with acne found that isotretinoin treatment (Accutane) during adolescence was not associated with shorter adult height. Linear growth remained unaffected across a variety of doses and ages at treatment initiation. While Accutane is known to carry other side effects, these results may help ease concerns about growth impairment in adolescents with acne.

2: Pharmacists as Primary Care: A Framework, Not Just a Fantasy

A new framework published in the Canadian Pharmacists Journal proposes formally repositioning pharmacists as frontline primary care providers. The CARES Pathways model uses an electronic algorithm to guide pharmacists through chronic disease management for conditions like hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and COPD. The case is hard to argue with: nearly 1 in 5 Canadians has no family doctor, pharmacies are everywhere, and the evidence that pharmacist-led care improves outcomes already exists. A live randomized trial in Alberta has enrolled 1,000 patients, with results expected this summer.

3: Why Ozempic Stops Working

A new NIH study using fluorescence imaging in mice may have cracked a common question pharmacists field about GLP-1 drugs: why does the weight loss plateau? Researchers found semaglutide’s effects depend on sustained increases in cAMP inside appetite-regulating neurons, but some neurons only hold that response temporarily before essentially tuning the drug out. When researchers blocked PDE4, the enzyme that breaks down cAMP, more neurons stayed responsive for longer. The findings are preclinical, but they point toward a possible path for extending GLP-1 effectiveness and helping patients push past the plateau.

Shelf Watch 🏥

Drug Shortages ⚠️

Climara (estradiol patch), 25 mcg, 50 mcg & 75 mcg

• Anticipated start: June 12, 2026

• Estimated end: August 15, 2026

• Remaining: ~10 weeks

• Additional details: Bayer is anticipating a shortage across all 3 Climara patch strengths due to increased demand. Consider notifying prescribers who frequently prescribe Climara and suggest alternatives.

Recombivax HB (hepatitis B vaccine), 5 mcg & 10 mcg

• 10 mcg: Actual shortage started May 20, 2026

• 5 mcg: Anticipated start: June 29, 2026

• Estimated end (both): August 10, 2026

• Remaining: ~10 weeks

• Additional details: Merck has reported a shortage of both strengths due to increased demand. Remaining doses are reserved for the public immunization program. Patients seeking Hep B vaccination may need to be directed to public health.

Drugs on the Radar 🔭

Suzetrigine (JOURNAVX, Vertex Pharmaceuticals)

• Status: New Drug Submission accepted for review by Health Canada, May 21, 2026

• Additional details: Suzetrigine is a selective NaV1.8 pain signal inhibitor, which is a new class of oral pain medicine that is neither an opioid nor an NSAID. If approved, it would be the 1st new class of acute pain medication in Canada in over 20 years.

How Early Planning Can Help Sell Your Pharmacy Tax Free

Selling your pharmacy tax-free doesn’t start when you decide to exit. It starts years earlier.

You’ve spent years building your pharmacy.
The long hours.
Managing staff.
Handling inventory shortages.
Balancing patient care with business ownership.
The pressure that comes with running a successful store.

So, why would you let a lot of that hard work be wasted in taxes when you’re ready to sell?

The biggest tax-saving opportunities are only available when proper planning is done well in advance. One of the most powerful, yet commonly overlooked tools to achieve this is a family trust.

At RX Dental Accountants, we regularly meet owners who had no idea this strategy existed until it was almost too late to implement. With proper planning, a family trust can potentially save you hundreds of thousands, or even $1M+ in taxes upon a sale.

So, What is a Family Trust?

In simple terms, a family trust is a legal structure that may allow you to multiply your Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption (LCGE) across family members. Each qualifying individual can shelter up to around $1,275,000 of capital gains from tax when selling qualifying shares of a business.

The opportunity is simple: instead of only 1 person accessing the exemption, a properly structured family trust may allow multiple family members to use theirs as well.

In the right situation, this can create massive tax savings.

The pharmacy is the same.
The buyer is the same.
But your tax outcome can look completely different depending on how your business was
structured years earlier.

To make this strategy work properly, the family trust needs to become a shareholder of the corporation. This often involves putting a value on your business today, freezing the current share structure, and creating a new structure going forward that includes the trust. This planning needs to be done carefully and proactively.

Why This Strategy is So Powerful

One of the biggest misconceptions about family trusts is that including family members means giving up control of your pharmacy. That is not the case.

A properly structured family trust may allow you to:

• Potentially reduce or eliminate tax on a future sale by multiplying the LCGE.

• Maintain full operational control of your business.

• Move money tax-efficiently to a holding company to build investments.

• Add creditor protection and safeguard assets in events like marriage breakdowns.

If you have children, this strategy is even more valuable because while they cannot directly own shares until age 18, they can be beneficiaries of a trust.

The Biggest Mistake Owners Make

The most common phrase we hear is: “I’m not planning on selling for another 10 years.”

The problem? Unfortunately, the best tax strategies do not work at the last minute.

And life doesn’t always follow your expected timeline. Health issues, burnout, partnership disputes, or unexpected purchase offers can happen at any time.

Many family trusts and LCGE planning opportunities require implementation at least 2 years before a sale. Waiting until you are ready to sell is often too late.

Doing it Right

Family trusts are not a “one-size-fits-all” tool.

The College of Pharmacy in many provinces has strict rules regarding who can legally own shares in a pharmacy. It is critical to work with qualified tax and legal professionals to ensure your structure complies with provincial regulations.

At RX Dental Accountants, we specialize in helping pharmacy owners proactively structure their businesses to reduce taxes, protect wealth, and prepare for future succession.

Our specialized strategy plans help clients save an average of $30,410 per year in taxes.

If you own a pharmacy and have ever asked yourself: “How do I sell my pharmacy tax-free?”

Now is the time to start the conversation.

Hot Off The Press 🗞️

1: 💊 Generic Ozempic (semaglutide) has officially begun hitting Canadian pharmacy shelves this week, dropping at roughly 1/3 of the brand-name price. Health Canada greenlit generic options from Apotex and Dr. Reddy’s, with Apotex confirming its initial shipments rolled out to major distributors on Tuesday. Platforms like Felix are already offering the generic for about $150 a month, marking a massive cost barrier drop for out-of-pocket patients. The catch for frontline pharmacy teams is managing immediate patient expectations: stock is trickling into major hubs like Shoppers Drug Mart and Rexall, but public and private drug plans will take weeks or months to formally update their formularies, leaving initial access limited to cash-paying customers.

2: 💉 Misinformation has found a new target in long-standing newborn care: the vitamin K shot. More Canadian parents are refusing the newborn injection, a decades-old recommendation to prevent rare but potentially life-threatening bleeding. Since newborns naturally have low stores of vitamin K, this well-studied intervention gives vital protection for their first few weeks, lowering the risk of a complication that’s been on medicine’s radar since 1894. Refusal reasons vary, but pediatricians are hearing familiar online concerns: ingredients, jaundice, and a long-debunked link to childhood cancer. Oral vitamin K is an option, but CPS says it’s less effective and requires multiple follow-up doses.

3: 💗 New Statistics Canada data shows breast cancer rates aren’t landing evenly across Canada. From 2010 to 2020, invasive breast cancer incidence was higher in rural regions of Quebec, Ontario, and the Prairies, plus certain urban centres with large immigrant and racialized populations. Experts point to uneven mammography access, long travel times, and regional differences in screening programs, though better screening can also make incidence look higher by catching more cases. A recent CMAJ study projected breast cancer to make up 26% of new cancer diagnoses among women in Canada in 2026, and most provinces and territories have moved mammogram access closer to age 40.

RxBriefly Picks 💊

🥖 Make: this English muffin bread loaf. It’s a no-fuss, 1 bowl bake that gives you all the nooks-and-crannies of a classic English muffin without any shaping or flipping.

📖 Read: The Walrus’ piece on a writer who spent months with an AI companion, trying to build a friendship that ended up feeling increasingly hollow and more isolating than being alone.

💰Save: on a roundup of Canada-wide online deals covering home, tech, fashion, and everyday essentials as retailers cycle through limited-time discounts and promos. 

📺 Watch: this video of pharmacist, Dr. Ethan Melillo, breaking down the best (and worst) seasonal allergy treatments.

@millennialrx

Pharmacist rates the BEST and WORST allergy medications continued #pharmacy #allergy #seasonalallergies #pharmacist #millennialrx

Relax 🧩

First clue: Pass out

Try it out —>

Need a rematch? We’ve got you covered. Check out our Crossword Archive to find every puzzle we’ve ever made, all in one place.

Think you crushed it? Challenge your pharmacist friends to beat your time.

Meme Of The Week

Questions of the Week

“I just opened an independent pharmacy… what actually makes people switch pharmacies?”
*Question inspired by Reddit thread on r/pharmacy.

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