Staying #Up2Date 🚨

1: A New Hope for Celiac Disease?

Could a medication someday help protect people with celiac disease from accidental gluten exposure? In a Phase 1b trial involving 32 patients, an experimental injectable drug called ANB033 reduced gluten-related symptoms and helped protect against intestinal damage. Just 6% of treated participants needed medication to relieve gastrointestinal symptoms during a gluten challenge, compared with 47% receiving placebo. The drug targets 2 immune signalling pathways involved in inflammation. The findings, announced by the manufacturer, are preliminary but offer hope for patients who currently rely on strict gluten avoidance.

2: Cannabis for Sleep? Not So Fast

Cannabis is often promoted as a sleep aid, but new research is raising questions about how well it actually works. A meta-analysis involving 537 participants with insomnia found little evidence of meaningful sleep improvements from medical cannabis compared with control treatments, although the available studies were short-term and generally low quality. Separate observational research also linked cannabis use with poorer sleep quality, even when users didn’t perceive a problem. For pharmacists fielding questions about sleep products, the findings highlight the gap between perceived benefits and clinical evidence.

3: Are We Overtreating Diabetes in Older Adults?

When is less medication actually better? A JAMA Internal Medicine cohort study examined whether diabetes medications are intensified or reduced appropriately among adults aged 65 and older, based on their HbA1c levels and overall health. The research highlights an important clinical question: are treatment decisions being individualized as patients age, particularly when tighter glucose control may bring more risks than benefits?

30-Second Pharmacy Challenge 🧠

Think you know your medications? Test yourself!

Flu Season Is Early. Is This Year’s Shot Ready? 💉

H1N1 is dominating Canada’s early flu cases, and experts say this year’s vaccine could be well positioned to protect against it.

Flu season is making an early appearance in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, and Canadian pharmacists are gearing up for another busy vaccination campaign. But there’s an encouraging twist this year: the strain driving most of Canada’s early influenza cases appears to be a good match for the vaccine. With vaccination programs rolling out across the country, here’s what pharmacists need to know.

What’s happening?

According to CBC News, Canada recorded 2,102 influenza detections between late August and September 26. Of the cases that were subtyped, approximately 98% were H1N1, a notable shift from last season, when H3N2 was more prominent.

Influenza activity has been increasing in parts of the country, although national test positivity remains low. Experts caution that an early rise doesn’t necessarily mean a more severe season.

Meanwhile, vaccination campaigns are underway. In Ontario, high-risk and priority groups have been eligible since late September, with free flu and COVID-19 vaccines becoming available to the general public on Oct. 26. Other provinces have their own rollout schedules.

How good is this year’s vaccine?

Here’s the encouraging part. Infectious disease experts cited by CBC News say the 2026–27 influenza vaccine appears to be a good match for circulating H1N1 viruses.

That’s important because influenza viruses evolve, and vaccine effectiveness depends partly on how closely the selected strains match those circulating.

But a good match isn’t a guarantee. Real-world vaccine effectiveness won’t be clear until more data become available.

What pharmacists should know

• Timing matters: Encourage patients to get vaccinated as soon as doses become available in their province, rather than waiting until later in the season.

• Older adults have options: NACI recommends preferentially offering high-dose, adjuvanted or recombinant influenza vaccines to adults 65 and older when available.

• More than one vaccine: Flu and COVID-19 vaccines can be administered during the same visit. RSV immunization may also be relevant for eligible patients.

• Eligibility varies: Public funding, vaccine availability and pharmacy administration rules differ across provinces, making local guidance essential.

The bottom line

This year’s flu season may be starting early, but there’s reason for cautious optimism about the vaccine match. For pharmacists, the priority is helping patients understand what’s circulating, which vaccines are recommended and why timely vaccination matters.

Hot Off the Press 🗞️

1: 🦠 A new treatment for stubborn herpes infections has received the FDA’s approval. Hovilpri (pritelivir) is an oral antiviral for immunocompromised adults whose HSV lesions haven’t responded to standard treatments. In a Phase 3 trial, 63% of patients achieved complete lesion healing by day 28, compared with 34% receiving other treatments. There’s no public confirmation yet of a Canadian submission for approval.

2: 👁️ An experimental blindness treatment is offering a sight of hope for people with advanced retinitis pigmentosa. In a small trial, researchers used gene therapy to make surviving retinal cells sensitive to light, then special goggles to stimulate them. Seven of the ten participants showed improved light sensitivity, with six achieving clinically meaningful gains, including the ability to detect and locate objects. Larger studies are needed, but the findings suggest that even severely damaged visual systems may have some sight left to recover.

3: 🤒 The death of a laboratory worker at a Siberian anti-plague institute has left the World Health Organization with an unanswered question: what killed her? Russian authorities say the woman died of severe pneumonia on October 2, but testing found no evidence of plague or other high-threat pathogens. No linked cases have been identified, although the cause of her illness remains unknown. WHO says a laboratory-related exposure cannot yet be ruled out.

4: 💰 The family behind Shoppers Drug Mart is expanding its pharmacy empire across the pond. Canada’s Weston family has struck a $12.7-billion deal to acquire Boots, one of the UK’s largest pharmacy chains, with roughly 1,800 stores and 50,000 employees. The acquisition, backed by Fairfax Financial, includes Boots’ optical business and No7 beauty brand. Galen Weston is set to become chairman when the deal closes in early 2027, pending regulatory approval.

RxBriefly Picks 💊

🥣 Cook: Still staring at a fridge full of Thanksgiving leftovers? Canadian chef Mary Berg has a solution: leftover turkey and dumplings. Think tender turkey, vegetables and fluffy homemade dumplings in a comforting broth. A delicious way to give Monday’s dinner a second life.

🔬 Listen: Can gut bacteria influence how your body responds to a vaccine? CBC’s Quirks & Quarks explores the surprising connection between microbes and fever, plus the fascinating science of optogenetics.

🤑 Save: $416 on cleaner air at home. The Coway Airmega 400 air purifier is down to $549 (regularly $965). With HEPA filtration, automatic air-quality monitoring and coverage for large spaces, it might be time to give your indoor air an upgrade.

💊 Learn: Not all oral iron supplements are created equal. From absorption and tolerability to formulation selection, there’s plenty to consider when treating iron deficiency. In this free, 15-minute RxBriefCase course, Dr. Christine Palmay and Dr. Michelle Jacobson share practical insights to help clinicians optimize oral iron therapy and improve patient adherence.

📱 Watch: What happens when a pharmacist faces an emergency? 😂

@ashknapp406

We’re gonna need an hour to get that fixed up for ya. #pharmacy #pharmacytech

Question of the Week ❓

We’ll go first: Hydrochlorothiazide. We’ve said it a million times, but somehow it still trips us up. 😂

What’s the one medication name you can never seem to pronounce properly? Join the conversation on r/RxBriefly →

Relax 🧩

First clue: Buccinator location

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Meme Of The Week 😂

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