College of Pharmacy

About the OSU College of Pharmacy: The College of Pharmacy prepares students of today to be the pharmacy practitioners and pharmaceutical sciences researchers of tomorrow by contributing to improved health, advancing patient care and the discovery and understanding of medicines.

Oregon State University research pushes closer to new therapy for pancreatic cancer

PORTLAND, Ore. – Research by Oregon State University has uncovered a potential new therapy for pancreatic cancer, whose survival rate is among the lowest of all malignancies.

About one person in 64 will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. The pancreas is an abdominal organ that regulates blood sugar and also helps with digestion.

For cancer patients on immunotherapy, harmful gut bacteria might matter more than helpful ones

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Melanoma patients receiving therapy that helps their immune system kill cancer cells respond to treatment differently depending on the types of microbes in their gut, and new research suggests the microorganisms hindering therapy have more influence than the beneficial ones.

Findings by a collaboration that included researchers at Oregon State University, the National Cancer Institute, the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and the University of Pittsburgh were published today in Nature Medicine.

Melanoma patients respond to immunotherapy after changes to gut microbiome

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Statistical modeling developed by Oregon State University researchers has confirmed that changes to melanoma patients’ gut microbiome led them to respond to a type of treatment capable of providing long-term benefit.

Findings were published in Science.

The modeling technique invented by Andrey Morgun of the OSU College of Pharmacy and Natalia Shulzenko of Oregon State’s Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine is known as transkingdom network analysis.

Oregon State study finds room for improvement when hospital patients transition to hospice care

PORTLAND, Ore. – Terminally ill patients referred to hospice care from a hospital setting tend to be on hospice for shorter periods than those who enter hospice while living at home or in a residential care facility.

The findings by Oregon State University College of Pharmacy researchers are an important step toward improving the care experiences of dying patients and their loved ones.

Older adults risk ER visits when dentists prescribe opioids on top of other meds, study finds

PORTLAND, Ore. — When dentists prescribe opioid painkillers to older patients who are already taking medication for depression or anxiety, the combination of drugs increases patients’ risk of landing in the emergency room and being hospitalized, according to a recent Oregon State University study.

Though electronic health records have improved in recent years, dentists are often still out of the loop when it comes to their patients’ full medication history, and patients may not remember every pill they’re taking.

Study points out opioid risks for hospital patients transitioning to skilled nursing facilities

PORTLAND, Ore. – Hospital patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities often bring a high-dose painkiller prescription with them, suggesting more attention should be paid to opioid safety for those patients, research from the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy shows.

The findings are important because they shed light on an understudied aspect of the opioid-fueled public health crisis that has gripped the United States for more than two decades.

Researchers use nanotechnology to develop new treatment for painful gynecological condition

PORTLAND, Ore. – Scientists have developed a precise, nanotechnology-based treatment to alleviate the pain and fertility problems associated with endometriosis, a common gynecological condition in women of childbearing age.

Research led by Oleh Taratula of the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy and Ov Slayden of the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University used photo-responsive nanoparticles loaded with dye to find and remove the lesions associated with the disorder.

More than half of dental prescriptions for opioids exceed pain-management guidelines, study finds

PORTLAND, Ore. – A new study suggests that roughly half of the opioid prescriptions written by dentists in the United States exceed the three-day supply recommended by federal dental pain-management guidelines.

The research also showed that during the five-year study period, a more powerful narcotic than necessary was prescribed almost 3 times of out 10.