AMCP Foundation Announces Recipients of 2017 National P&T Competition, Best Poster Contests

Denver, Colorado, March 30, 2017 — The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Foundation is proud to announce winners of its 17th Annual National Student Pharmacist Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) Competition and 2017 Best Poster Contests for student pharmacists, residents or fellows, and graduate students. 

Taking first place in the P&T Competition was the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Winner of the Best Student Pharmacist Poster was Arianna Kee; Best Resident or Fellow Poster was Kameron Kelly, PharmD; and Best Graduate Student Poster was Sanket Shah, MBBS.

Awards were presented March 30 at the AMCP Foundation Awards Ceremony during the AMCP Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado.

“AMCP and the AMCP Foundation are committed to cultivating the next generation of managed care pharmacy leaders,” said Susan A. Cantrell, RPh, CAE, AMCP Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the AMCP Foundation Board of Trustees. “Based on the quality of the work in this year’s P&T and poster competitions, I’m confident that our profession is in good hands.”

The P&T competition gives student pharmacists the chance to experience firsthand the complex practice of managing the formulary process. The poster competitions, likewise, provide an opportunity for student pharmacists, residents, fellows, and graduate students to demonstrate scientific expertise along with presentation, poster development and technical skills. 

“The AMCP Foundation is proud to showcase the work of our country’s brightest student pharmacists each year,” said Paula J. Eichenbrenner, CAE, Executive Director of the AMCP Foundation. “A key part of the Foundation’s mission is to support education. These competitions provide unique, real-life learning opportunities that prepares participants for a lifetime of success.”

With a record 60 AMCP Student Pharmacist Chapters nationwide registering for the P&T Competition, eight finalist teams were selected from twelve schools and colleges of pharmacy that advanced to the semi-finals. The finalists represent Mercer University; Ohio Northern University, Raabe College of Pharmacy; Touro University California; University of Iowa; University of Minnesota; University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy; University of the Pacific; and University of Washington

The teams, assisted by their advisors and competition coordinators, worked through a case study involving a drug product dossier based on the AMCP Format for Formulary Submissions. This year’s competition drug was Xeljanz® (tofacitinib citrate), manufactured by Pfizer, Inc. Using available evidence, the teams presented their recommendations for formulary placement to a panel of judges representing a P&T committee. 

The 2017 winning teams are: 

• First Place: University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy. The first place team’s school receives a $4,000 scholarship.
• Second Place: University of Washington. The second place team receives a $3,000 scholarship.
• Third Place: University of the Pacific. The third place team receives a $2,000 scholarship.

The P&T competition was made possible through the generosity of Genentech, Inc. with additional support from Amgen, Inc.; Supernus Pharmaceuticals; Dymaxium; and AMCP eDossier.

This year’s Best Poster Competitions drew 107 entries. The posters were judged on criteria including the paper’s scientific merit, evidence that the research conducted was innovative and practical, the strength of the conclusions, the relevance of the study to managed care pharmacy practice, the clarity of the material, and the author’s knowledge of the subject matter during his or her presentation. 

The 2017 recipients are: 

• Best Student Pharmacist Poster: Arianna Kee, Rutgers University; “Economic Evaluation of High Cost Predictive Factors for Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infection (ABSSSI): A Retrospective Analysis”
• Best Resident or Fellow Poster: Kameron Kelly, PharmD, a PGY1 resident at VIVA Health and a graduate of Samford University’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy; “Predictive Modeling: An Analysis of Select Oncolytic Drug Cost through the Commercial Medical and Pharmacy Benefits”
• Best Graduate Student Poster: Sanket Shah, MBBS, a primary care physician who is a PhD candidate in Health Economics and Outcomes Research at the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy; “Cost Comparison Analysis of Recurrent Clostridium difficile treated with Fecal Microbiota Transplants vs. Antimicrobial Therapy”

Poster award recipients receive a $500 prize, a one-year AMCP membership, complimentary registration to the AMCP Nexus 2017 this October in Dallas, Texas, and an engraved plaque.

For more information on the AMCP Foundation, please visit www.amcpfoundation.org.

About the AMCP Foundation 
Established in 1990, the 501(c)3 nonprofit AMCP Foundation exists to advance collective knowledge and insights on major issues associated with the practice of pharmacy in managed health care settings. By facilitating innovative research initiatives and providing educational opportunities to learn about managed care pharmacy, the AMCP Foundation invests in the future of managed care. The Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP).