Thirty million Americans will struggle with disordered eating at some point in their lives. Nearly one million Canadians are living with a diagnosed eating disorder, and millions of others struggle with food and weight preoccupation.

These serious illnesses affect all kinds of individuals across the spectrum of gender, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status.

This month marks two observances to raise public awareness about the dangers of eating disorders. In the United States, the National Eating Disorders Association is spearheading National Eating Disorders Awareness Week from February 26th through March 4th. In Canada, the National Eating Disorder Information Centre is behind Eating Disorder Awareness Week from February 1st through February 7th.

Eating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating, are complex and life threatening – they have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. However, due to societal stigma, many eating disorders go undiagnosed or untreated.

Fighting Eating Disorders: Why Naturopathic Medicine May Be the Answer

Domenic Pilla, the former CEO of Shoppers Drug Mart, has been named CEO of McKesson Canada. This move follows McKesson’s $2.9-billion acquisition of Rexall Health in late December.

Pilla was CEO of Shoppers from 2011 to 2015, and president of McKesson Canada from 2001 to 2011. In this new role, he assumes overall leadership responsibility for McKesson’s distribution and retail businesses in Canada, including Rexall Health.

In the future, Pilla is expected to appoint a new president of Rexall Health to provide day-to-day leadership for the banner.
“Domenic Pilla is uniquely qualified to lead our expanded portfolio in Canada based on his previous experience as president of Shoppers Drug Mart and McKesson Canada,” says Paul C. Julian, executive vice-president and group president of the McKesson Corporation. “He brings deep knowledge of both the wholesale and retail sides of the business, and a proven track record of delivering results.”

QR Pharma Inc., a privately held Phase 2 biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the appointment of four world-class key opinion leaders to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). These new appointments join QR Pharma’s previous roster of impressive advisors in order to provide strategic leadership and direction to support the development of the breakthrough mechanism of action of Posiphen in neurodegenerative disease.

Posiphen is a first-in-class inhibitor of the neurotoxic aggregating proteins involved in the pathogenesis of conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Posiphen has been shown to reduce the expression of key neurodegenerative proteins including amyloid precursor protein, alpha synuclein and tau. This innovative mechanism of action could be applicable to several conditions in which multiple neurodegenerative proteins share responsibility for disease pathogenesis. Posiphen is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2A proof-of-concept/mechanism study for patients with early Alzheimer’s disease.

“We are thrilled to have attracted four world-class experts in the area of neurology to our team of scientific advisors,” stated Maria Maccecchini, Ph.D., President and CEO of QR Pharma. “They join at an exciting time for our company. Recent breakthrough discoveries regarding Posiphen’s mechanism of action suggest a first-in-class disease-modifying therapeutic with broad clinical application. The experience each of the new advisors brings to our team will be invaluable in realizing the full therapeutic potential of Posiphen in neurodegenerative disease.”

“Posiphen represents an opportunity to attack neurodegenerative disease at its roots,” commented Dr. Sidney Strickland, newChairman of the QR Pharma SAB and Professor of Neurology and Genetics at Rockefeller University. “Unlike other therapeutic modalities that only attack a single axis of neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis, Posiphen targets multiple disease-causing proteins. I look forward to working with the fellow members of the SAB and QR Pharma leadership to advance this promising therapeutic agent for patients suffering from debilitating neurodegenerative conditions.”

The four new scientific advisory board members are Wiliam Mobley, M.D., Ph.D.; Gregory Petsko, Ph.D.; Sidney Strickland, Ph.D.; and Rudolph Tanzi, Ph.D.

Enzymedica, Inc. is excited to announce that Dr. Michael Murray, author of over 30 books, including “The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine,” and an individual who has been recently named “The Voice of Natural Medicine” by Nutrition Business Journal, has joined the company as Chief Science Officer.

According to Scott Sensenbrenner, CEO, “Dr. Murray is a true icon in the natural health movement and brings tremendous credibility, experience, and passion to our company.”

Dr. Murray will be critical to driving new innovations in product development for Enzymedica, as well as leading research efforts to create next generation formulas that will be groundbreaking for the industry.
In addition to his role with Enzymedica, Dr. Murray will be working closely with the Roskamp Institute in Sarasota, Fl. This non-profit organization is performing cutting edge research for organizations like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DOD) and the European Union (EU). Roskamp is renowned for their team’s research on Alzheimer’s disease, Gulf War Illness, and other complex diseases. Dr. Murray and the Institute will be developing better answers for improving brain health, the human microbiome and digestion.
Enzymedica’s strategic relationship with the Roskamp Institute gives it the resources and expertise critical for providing innovative, science-based natural products, furthering its contribution to digestive health. This close partnership is further demonstrated by Sensenbrenner, who serves on the Board of Directors of the Roskamp Institute.

Dr. Murray says, “I am thrilled to be part of the team at both Enzymedica and the Rosskamp Institute. It is a dream come true.”
Sensenbrenner and Dr. Murray previously worked together in the 1990s at Enzymatic Therapy, which was later acquired by the German company Dr. Wilmarr Schwabe Pharmaceuticals.
About Enzymedica:

Florida-based Enzymedica, Inc. was founded in 1998 to offer consumers targeted enzyme products, and only uses the highest quality vegetarian enzyme sources available. Digest™ and Digest Gold™ are the two top-selling digestive enzymes in the U.S. market according to SPINS, a market research and consulting firm for the Natural Products Industry. Enzymedica is a proud supporter of many green initiatives, including use of solar energy, recycled steel for its building and recycled paper for packing and shipping. Enzymedica also sponsors initiatives in autism, Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center (SPARCC) of Sarasota, and others.

About Dr. Murray:

Dr. Murray is one of the world’s leading authorities on natural medicine. He has published over 30 books featuring natural approaches to health. He is a graduate, former faculty member, and serves on the Board of Regents of Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington.

McKesson Canada and Sobeys National Pharmacy Group have announced the signing of a long-term distribution agreement that makes Lawton’s Drug Stores a primary distribution customer, enhancing McKesson Canada’s presence in Atlantic Canada. The agreement is effective February 1st, 2017.

Both McKesson Canada and Sobeys have a long history as trusted partners in patient care through quality products and services. This agreement leverages the strength of McKesson Canada as a national leader in pharmaceutical supply chain management and Sobeys’ position as an important destination for health and wellness needs.

“We are excited about our expanded relationship with Sobeys,” stated Paula Keays, President, McKesson Canada. “We have great confidence in the exceptional value we provide our customers and we appreciate the opportunity to work with Sobeys in delivering a broad range of pharmaceutical products and services to their customers.”

McKesson Canada and Sobeys have worked together for several years to provide a wide variety of prescriptions and health services to customers. Today’s announcement will allow for a consistent source of supply across all regions where Sobeys and Lawton Drugs serve customers including Atlantic Canada.

As a result of this announcement, McKesson Canada will leverage its existing Atlantic Canada distribution centers while adding resources where required and anticipates employment levels to be net neutral in the region.