March 1st 2022
Despite the promise of savings billions of dollars in the United States, adoption of biosimilars has been slow. A roundtable discussion among employers highlighted some of the barriers, including formulary design and drug pricing and rebates.
Investigational antiviral reduces duration, eases severity of viral respiratory infections
February 1st 2002An experimental antiviral medication can shorten the duration of colds and reduce the severity of cold symptoms, reported Frederick Hayden, MD. He presented a pooled analysis of data from two phase III trials of the drug at the 41st annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), held recently in Chicago.
Update on the benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy (PDF)
February 1st 2002Emerging data are continually refining our understanding of the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women. This review assesses the current state of evidence on these various risks and benefits, concluding with an outline of what's established and where varying degrees of uncertainty remain. Algorithms for use of HRT for several established indications are featured.
Acute migraine therapy: Triptan quantity limit maintains total health care savings 1 year out
January 1st 2002Prime Therapeutics, St. Paul, MN-Do quantity limits on abortive migraine medications (ie, triptans) and educational efforts to increase the use of prophylactic therapy reduce total health care costs over the long term?
Conversion to a computerized clinical intervention documentation process: What are the gains?
January 1st 2002ValleyCare Health System, Pleasanton, CA-The expansion of decentralized clinical pharmacy services at this health system served as the impetus to improve their clinical intervention documentation process.
Ranolazine enhances exercise performance when added to standard medications
January 1st 2002Ranolazine, the first in a new class of antianginal agents called the partialfatty acid oxidation (pFOX) inhibitors, improves exercise performance andreduces angina frequency in patients who still have symptoms despite treatmentwith other antianginal medications, according to Bernard Chaitman, MD. Hereported the results of a Phase III study called the Combination Assessmentof Ranolazine in Stable Angina (CARISA).
For first time, an antianginal agent shown to improve clinical outcomes
January 1st 2002An agent developed specifically for the treatment of angina reduces theincidence of major coronary events, reported Henry Dargie, MD, who presentedthe results of a trial known as the Impact of Nicorandil in Angina (IONA).It is believed to be the first large-scale trial to report on the effectsof a specific antianginal drug on clinical outcome.
Application of probabilistic sensitivity analysis in decision analytic modeling (PDF)
January 1st 2002Although sensitivity analysis is a widely used technique for testing the uncertainty in pharmacoeconomic modeling parameters, it does have limitations. This month's column introduces probabilistic sensitivity analysis as an alternative method for examining uncertainty.
Emerging uses of the new anticonvulsants: What's the state of the evidence? (PDF)
January 1st 2002Like their older counterparts, the newer anticonvulsants gabapentin, lamotrigine, and topiramate show promise for treating various off-label psychiatric and neurologic disorders. This review examines the quality of current evidence for these new uses, identifies where gaps in the evidence lie, and discusses which emerging uses of individual agents appear most justified.
Automatic interchange of the ACE inhibitors: Decision-making process and initial results (PDF)
January 1st 2002Clinicians at Nebraska Methodist Hospital, a not-for-profit acute care facility, developed and implemented an automatic interchange program for the ACE inhibitor class of drugs. This article presents the ACE inhibitor review upon which the formulary decisions were based as well as the initial clinical and economic results of the interchange program. (This pdf version includes an appendix that was not included in the print issue)
Focus On: Fondaparinux: A novel synthetic antithrombotic for prevention of venous thromboembolism
December 1st 2001Fondaparinux, the first in a new class of antithrombotics that selectively target factor Xa, has been deemed approvable by the FDA for prevention of venous thromboembolism following orthopedic surgery. Four phase III trials have suggested that it may be more effective than enoxaparin in this setting with little to no additional bleeding risk. This Focus review examines data from these trials and others in an effort to sketch out this pending agent's likely therapeutic role.
Bioterror response to alter pharmaceutical development and marketing
December 1st 2001Uncle Sam is poised to authorize more than $1 billion to buy medicines and vaccines for the national pharmaceutical stockpile, and federal agencies are gearing up to spend millions more on research related to infectious disease. In response, the pharmaceutical industry is assessing how these developments may alter the way it does business.
PBM shares strategy behind Prozac switch success
November 1st 2001In less than 2 weeks after the launch of generic fluoxetine in August, Merck-Medco had switched 85% of its mail-order Prozac prescriptions to generic versions of the antidepressant. It says its generic switch rate for retail Prozac scripts was 69% over the same time period.
Federal protocols plus local follow-through is key to hospitals' terrorism readiness, experts say
November 1st 2001The September 11 terrorist attacks and October's wave of anthrax cases have forced hospitals and health systems to examine their emergency preparedness from a new perspective. When it comes to planning for possible shortages of critical drugs and the need for biodefense, experts say the right mix of federal guidance and local implementation is key.
Practice setting, other variables determine success of preferred drug sample closet
November 1st 2001Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare, Wellesley, MA-It's well accepted that the provision of drug samples influences physician prescribing practices. Annually, the pharmaceutical industry provides billions of dollars worth of drug samples to physicians' offices and studies have shown the effectiveness of sample medications in shaping physician prescribing patterns.