Biotherapeutics Usage by Iowa Pharmacists
A Survey
Sierra Wooley, Masoud Yousif, Rhonda Beemer (Mentor), Pramod Mahajan (Mentor)
Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
• A pre written survey was developed using Qualtrics, an
online survey software and approved by Drake’s IRB.
• Attendees at the Iowa Pharmacy Association Educational
Expo were informed about and participated in the survey.
• The survey was presented on iPads to the participants.
• Participants spent 10-15 minutes confidentially inputting their
answers into the survey.
• Responses were recorded into password protected Qualtrics.
• The data was transferred into Microsoft Excel for further
analysis. Results were compared and calculated using
Microsoft Excel 2010.
Introduction
Results
• Many BTs have been developed and licensed to treat serious
illnesses including cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis,
anemia and rheumatoid arthritis.
Number of Pharmacists who Have
Worked with a Biotherapeutic
• Many of these drugs are produced using the recombinant DNA
technology. Insulin, used by diabetics to regulate blood sugar,
was the first BT approved for in vivo use in the USA.
11%
30%
59%
• BTs are more effective and safer than small molecule drugs
due to their high target specificity and minimum risk for nonmechanism based toxicity within the human body.
14%
32%
40%
Yes
20%
No
0%
1961-1975
1976-1990
1991-2005 2006-Present
Pharmacy School Graduation Year
Would definitely attend
No
Figure 1. Majority of Iowa pharmacists surveyed have
not worked with BTs
Humira (Adalimumab)
# of Pharmacists
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
1 to 5
5 to 10
Figure 6. This chart represents survey participants’ interest in
attending continuing education about BTs.
• Although survey participants named five different BTs they
worked with during the last five years, Insulin is the most
common BT used by Iowa pharmacists surveyed.
Tysabri (Natalizumab)
BCG Vaccine
Not sure
2
4
6
8
10
Number of Pharmacists
12
Figure 4. Insulin is the most common BT used by survey
participants.
Perceived Knowledge About BTs
Based on Graduation Year
Number of BTs Iowa Pharmacists
Worked With In Last 5 Years
100%
• Over 85 % of the pharmacists surveyed expressed interest in
attending an educational seminar/workshop on BTs.
• Increasing knowledge of health care professionals about BTs
may improve healthcare outcome.
• Limitations of our study include, a small sample size, only
Iowa pharmacists surveyed, and limited time to gather
information from participants.
80%
• We propose a follow up study with a larger, geographically
diverse pharmacist population to validate our conclusions.
60%
40%
20%
Acknowledgements
0%
1961-1975
1976-1990
1991-2005
2006-Present
Pharmacy School Graduation Year
# of Different BTs
Somewhat Well Informed
Not Well Informed
We thank the Iowa Pharmacy Association for allowing us to conduct
the survey during the 2013 IPA Educational Expo.
Bibliography
•
Figure 2. This graph shows how many BTs Iowa
Pharmacists reported working with in the past 5 years.
Would not attend
• Approximately 6% of the pharmacists surveyed are very well
informed about BTs. In view of the increasing use of BTs, we
identify a need to provide training to pharmacists in this area.
Procrit (Epoetin alfa)
I am not sure
May attend
Conclusions
Flu Vaccine
Very Informed
• The goal of this project was to bring more attention to BTs,
and to learn about their current usage in Iowa.
54%
Specific BTs Iowa Pharmacists
Work With
Percent of Pharmacists
• This study was conducted to learn how many pharmacists in
Iowa work with BTs and how much knowledge they have when
it comes to these medications.
60%
0
• BTs are applicable in multiple therapeutic areas and for a
variety of targets.
• BTs are produced in various forms, including vaccines,
recombinant proteins with or without antibody fusion, and
other engineered biomolecules.
80%
Insulin
Yes
• Additionally, BTs improve production of body’s’ normal growth
factors, hormones and enzymes, modulate proteins and
protein interactions intractable to small molecules, and
exhibit favorable attrition rate.
Most Iowa Pharmacists Surveyed are
Interested in Continuing Education of
BTs
Relationship Between Graduation Year
and Working With BTs
Figure 3. Comparison of number of Iowa pharmacists
working with BTs and their year of graduation
Biotherapeutic Medication
Biotherapeutics (BTs) are drugs produced using biological means
such as recombinant DNA technology. BTs are important in the
treatment of a number of disorders such as cancer, immunological
diseases and certain gastrointestinal diseases. Paucity of basic
information regarding BTs is a significant challenge associated with
the successful application of BTs. The objective of our study was to
evaluate the knowledge pharmacists in Iowa have about the usage of
BTs. A short survey was designed to gather demographic data as
well as data on specific knowledge about BTs. In our study, 38% of
the pharmacists have not worked with a BT in the last five years. It
was also found that over 85% of pharmacists surveyed would be
interested in more education about BTs.
Percent of Pharmacists Who Work With
Biotherapeutics
Methods
Abstract
Figure 5. This graph represents pharmacists’
perception of their knowledge about BT drugs as a
function of their graduation year
•
•
•
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