Recent FDA Approvals (through December 2010) related to Amturnide, Prezista, Safyral, Gardasil, Atelvia
A triple-combination pill containing aliskiren, amlodipine, and hydrochlorothiazide (Amturnide, Novartis) was approved for patients whose high blood pressure is not adequately controlled with any 2 of its individual components.
A new dosing protocol was approved for darunavir (Prezista, Tibotec Therapeutics) in combination with ritonavir for the treatment of HIV-1, to include once-daily (800/100 mg) dosing in treatment-experienced adult patients with no darunavir resistance-associated mutations.
Drospirenone 3 mg/ethinyl estradiol 30 μg/levomefolate calcium 451 μg tablets and levomefolate 451 μg tablets (Safyral, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals) was approved as an oral contraceptive and also raises folate levels in women who choose an oral contraceptive for birth control for the purpose of reducing the risk of rare neural tube defects in a pregnancy conceived while taking Safyral or shortly after discontinuing it.
Risedronate sodium (Atelvia, Warner Chilcott), the first oral bisphosphonate taken weekly immediately after breakfast, was approved for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
Coalition promotes important acetaminophen dosing reminders
November 18th 2014It may come as a surprise that each year Americans catch approximately 1 billion colds, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 20% get the flu. This cold and flu season, 7 in 10 patients will reach for an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine to treat their coughs, stuffy noses, and sniffles. It’s an important time of the year to remind patients to double check their medicine labels so they don’t double up on medicines containing acetaminophen.
Support consumer access to specialty medications through value-based insurance design
June 30th 2014The driving force behind consumer cost-sharing provisions for specialty medications is the acquisition cost and not clinical value. This appears to be true for almost all public and private health plans, says a new report from researchers at the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID Center) and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).
Management of antipsychotic medication polypharmacy
June 13th 2013Within our healthcare-driven society, the increase in the identification and diagnosis of mental illnesses has led to a proportional increase in the prescribing of psychotropic medications. The prevalence of mental illnesses and subsequent treatment approaches may employ monotherapy as first-line treatment, but in many cases the use of combination of therapy can occur, leading to polypharmacy.1 Polypharmacy can be defined in several ways but it generally recognized as the use of multiple medications by one patient and the most common definition is the concurrent use of five more medications. The presence of polyharmacy has the potential to contribute to non-compliance, drug-drug interactions, medication errors, adverse events, or poor quality of life.
Medical innovation improves outcomes
June 12th 2013I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the pancreas, a disease that’s long been considered not just incurable, but almost impossible to treat-a recalcitrant disease that some practitioners feel has given oncology a bad name. I was told my life would be measured in weeks.