Pharmacist checks in

My brother-in-law is a pharmacist.

I was having lunch with him the other day, and we were talking about his new job. He was a retail pharmacist - the guy that fills your prescription at the drugstore - but didn't care for the odd hours and hectic retail environment, so he switched to working for a medical insurance company.

What he does now is approve drugs for treatments of patients. If a doctor wants to prescribe a drug for a patient that normally isn't covered by the insurance company, it goes thru him - and he deciedes whether to cover it or not.

So of course, I got to ask him about Byetta, and he was telling me that it has been working extremely well for diabetics, but he doesn't cover it for obesity - yet. He also mentioned that Byetta's method of injection, by the so-called "Pen" injector is also a very promising technology, especially for those reluctant to take a drug because they would have to inject it. The pen is a very thin, small needle used for injection that produces very little, if any discomfort.

He also mentioned that Pfizer's new inhalable insulin, Exubera, is a dud; not in efficacy, so much as cost. This drug was developed specifically for those diabetics that resist taking the insulin because of the discomfort of the needle. Thing is, it's wildly expensive, compared to ordinary insulin shots, so he's having a hard time OK'ing it for coverage. One would think that someone would use the pen technology that Byetta uses for insulin. Maybe insulin is too thick to use.