Utibe R. Essien, MD, MPH

Glad to have contributed to this study examining #Pharmacoequity of newer disease modifying therapies for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Take a look at our paper below!

📝: www.jrheum.org/content/52/1...

Pharmacoequity turned 4 years old last month!

Had a wonderful time in Ann Arbor last week as this year’s McKesson Equity Series Speaker @ the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy sharing on the past, present, and future of this growing field.

Let’s work together to achieve #Pharmacoequity! 💊

Had a wonderful time at the National Academy of Medicine (@nam.edu) Annual Meeting last week, kicking off Year 2 of the Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine! ✨

Always great to connect with mentors, role models, and friends at this meeting and to celebrate the new inductees into the Academy.

Every Wednesday evening for years I’ve opened the @nejm.org weekly email to dozens of the latest clinical trials of exciting new therapies.

Yet, the future diffusion and equitable dissemination & implementation of these drugs is FAR less studied.

So many opportunities to advance #Pharmacoequity. 💊

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Interestingly this 2021 survey showed that nearly 1/3 of US physicians reported lack of knowledge of 💊s for tobacco cessation as a reason for not prescribing therapies.

📝: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Love the idea of a series focused on tobacco cessation globally, esp the role of #Pharmacoequity. 💊

But not sure there is evidence to support that it’s “lagging knowledge” driving ⬇️ rates of treatment in low and middle income countries. 🤔

Hoping for more data ahead.

www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

My patient recently lost his Medicaid insurance and couldn’t afford his meds.

Just calculated the cost of his 13 💊 which would be $2300/month. That’s around $27,500/year.

The FPL for a family of 4 is ~$32,000.

This is not sustainable for the health and lives of our patients!

#Pharmacoequity

Rite Aid closures reach 1,000 as America faces "pharmacy deserts" The ongoing closure of pharmacies across the country continues to threaten Americans' access to vital medications.

Walked into a #RiteAid in CA yday that was EMPTY. Sad.

“The hundreds of stores that are set to close within the year will limit many Americans' access to 💊 resulting in "pharmacy deserts"—less-connected communities being left w/o nearby drugstores.

#Pharmacoequity

www.newsweek.com/rite-aid-cvs...

In this week’s newsletter, we’re celebrating the well-deserved recognition our faculty and trainees have earned for their impact across education, research, clinical care, and community engagement. Read about the latest honors and achievements here: uclahs.fyi/3GZDVQQ

So great to see you this visit, friend! Thanks for the warm welcome! 😃

What an outstanding @cudeptofmedicine.bsky.social grand rounds presentation by the inspiring @uressien.bsky.social ! #pharmacoequity "Pursuing Pharmacoequity: The Case of Atrial Fibrillation"

Can’t believe it’s been since 2022! At least it was late in the year so almost 2023 😂.

And agreed, this project doesn’t happen without @dusetzinas.bsky.social being incredibly generous and supportive. Grateful for you, Stacie!

This image is a visual abstract for a paper titled ‘Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Receipt of ERBB2-Targeted Therapy for Breast Cancer, 2010-2020”. This was a Retrospective Cohort study using a SEER-Medicare Linked Dataset. The sample comprised 12,765 beneficiaries with ERBB2-positive breast cancer, and included those diagnosed from January 2010 to December 2020. The primary outcome of the study was receipt of ERBB2-targeted therapy in 12 months after diagnosis. The primary findings showed a) an increase in overall receipt of ERBB2-targeted therapies from 41.3% to 64.3% over time, and that b) Black & Hispanic patients had a lower likelihood of receipt than White patients in 2010-11, with no differences by 2018-19. The findings suggest a narrowing of racial and ethnic disparities in receipt of therapies over time among older Medicare beneficiaries with ERBB2-positive breast cancer. Future work is needed to understand the practices that resulted in the narrowing of disparities to develop implementation strategies and improve pharmacoequity in breast cancer care.

Sharing a short thread here on our recent publication from earlier this month. This project was an incredible team effort, and truly would not have been possible without every co-author on this all-⭐ team!

Go give it a read here if interested: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

A short 🧵:

(1/x)

‼️ New Simultaneous 📝 at #SGIM25.

In 2023, lecanemab became the 1st disease-modifying 💊 for Alzheimer’s disease.

Led by 🌟 Frank Zhou, we found that early uptake of lecanemab still appears to be marked by racial, ethnic & socioeconomic disparities.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

#Pharmacoequity

Congrats to the amazing, Renu! ✨

Pharmacoequity matters. Appreciate this work! #AGS25 @uressien.bsky.social

This image is a visual abstract for a paper titled ‘Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Receipt of ERBB2-Targeted Therapy for Breast Cancer, 2010-2020”. This was a Retrospective Cohort study using a SEER-Medicare Linked Dataset. The sample comprised 12,765 beneficiaries with ERBB2-positive breast cancer, and included those diagnosed from January 2010 to December 2020. The primary outcome of the study was receipt of ERBB2-targeted therapy in 12 months after diagnosis. The primary findings showed a) an increase in overall receipt of ERBB2-targeted therapies from 41.3% to 64.3% over time, and that b) Black & Hispanic patients had a lower likelihood of receipt than White patients in 2010-11, with no differences by 2018-19. The findings suggest a narrowing of racial and ethnic disparities in receipt of therapies over time among older Medicare beneficiaries with ERBB2-positive breast cancer. Future work is needed to understand the practices that resulted in the narrowing of disparities to develop implementation strategies and improve pharmacoequity in breast cancer care.

📋‼️Honored to share this newly published article that I helped lead!

Cannot thank @uressien.bsky.social enough - he has served as a friend, mentor, and sponsor throughout! And the whole study team who this wouldn’t have happened without!🙏🏽

Will post a longer thread on the findings soon - stay tuned!

‼️ NEW Paper.

Led by @sudkrishnamurthy.bsky.social we found wide disparities in receipt of ERBB2-targeted 💊 for Medicare enrollees w. breast cancer, disparities that did narrow by 2019.

We need more research to identify strategies to improve cancer #Pharmacoequity.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Screenshot of the article, "Disparities in High-Risk Medication Use—Implications for Health Equity and Deprescribing Practices"

Our new editorial in JAMA Network Open:
Lower rates of high-risk med use in minoritized Medicare beneficiaries may reflect access barriers, not better care. Highlights urgent need for equity in deprescribing practices & alternatives to PIMs. With @uressien.bsky.social jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

In people with diabetes, GLP-1 and SGLT2i drugs were associated with less Alzheimer's disease and related dementias
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

NEW Academic Achievement Unlocked: Fellow of the American College of Physicians! ✨😅

Grateful to Dr. Eileen Barrett for the nomination and to my Dad, the first and best internal medicine doctor I know. 🤎👨🏾‍⚕️

#FACP

cc @gradydoctor.bsky.social

More Americans Cannot Afford Medical Care: Gallup Poll A new survey found that 11 percent of Americans said they could not pay for medication and medical treatments.

“…11% of people said they could not afford medication and care within the past 3 months, the highest level in the four years the survey has been conducted.

Over 1/3 said if they were to need medical care, they would not be able to pay for it.”

#Pharmacoequity

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/h...

Drugs Have Uses We Can’t Imagine. He’s Using A.I. to Find Them. (Gift Article) Scientists are using machine learning to find new treatments among thousands of old medicines.

"In labs around the world, scientists are using A.I. to search among existing medicines for treatments that work for rare diseases." And saving some lives.
@davidfajgenbaum.bsky.social
gift link
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/w...

Patient-Clinician Communication Among Adults With and Without Serious Illness This cross-sectional study assesses patient-clinician communication experiences for adults with and without serious illness, focusing largely on relational and identity goals.

Sharing my new JAMANetworkOpen study, showing disparities in patient-clinician communication experiences of adults with/without serious illness: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam.... Compared to those without, adults with serious illness were more likely to feel afraid to ask questions, 1/

Comparison of Research Spending on New Drug Approvals by the NIH vs the Pharmaceutical Industry This cross-sectional study examines National Institutes of Health and pharmaceutical industry investments in recent drug approvals.

99% of new medicines developed by the pharmaceutical industry depend on NIH research jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Had the pleasure of being invited (virtually) to both the University of Iowa College of Medicine and College of Dentistry to serve as a Distinguished Lecturer. 🖤💛

We need more than just talk right now to bring us closer to justice in health, but hoping to help inspire the future.

Such a treat to have my friend and LEADER, Dr. Jasmine Marcelin, as our Department of Medicine Grand Rounds speaker. 👩🏾‍⚕️

Her talk, “Antimicrobial Prescribing Disparities and the Pursuit of #Pharmacoequity” was data-filled and inspiring. ✨

Q&A: Dr. Utibe Essien discusses goals of 'health, equity and justice' in research - Daily Bruin This post was updated Jan. 20 at 11:35 p.m. Dr. Utibe Essien, an assistant professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine, sat down with science and health editor Shaun Thomas to discuss...

Thanks to the *105-year-old* UCLA campus newspaper, the Daily Bruin, for this feature. 🗞️🐻

#HealthEquity

dailybruin.com/2025/01/20/q...

HHS announces the next 15 drugs to negotiate under Part D! Great to see this progress. Quite a few cancer treatments, which will mean more savings potential than in the first year's drug list (cancer drugs get limited or no rebates today). Good news for taxpayers and Medicare spending!