FDA has notified healthcare professionals and patients that the antidepressant citalopram hydrobromide (Celexa, Forest Laboratories) should no longer be used at doses greater than 40 mg per day because it can cause abnormal changes in the electrical activity of the heart.
FDA approved crizotinib (Xalkori, Pfizer) the first and only therapy specifically for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive as detected by an FDA-approved test.
Xalkori is being approved with a companion diagnostic test that will help determine if a patient has the abnormal ALK gene, a first-of-a-kind genetic test called the Vysis ALK Break Apart FISH Probe Kit. It is the second such targeted therapy approved by FDA this year.
This ALK gene abnormality causes cancer development and growth. About 1% to 7% of those with NSCLC have the ALK gene abnormality. Patients with this form of lung cancer are typically non-smokers. Xalkori works by blocking certain proteins called kinases, including the protein produced by the abnormal ALK gene. Xalkori is a pill taken twice a day as a single-agent treatment.
"The approval of Xalkori with a specific test allows the selection of patients who are more likely to respond to the drug," said Richard Pazdur, MD, director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products in FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Targeted therapies such as Xalkori are important options for treating patients with this disease and may ultimately result in fewer side effects."
Xalkori's safety and effectiveness were established in 2 multicenter, single-arm studies enrolling a total of 255 patients with late-stage ALK-positive NSCLC. A sample of a patient's lung cancer tissue was collected and tested for the ALK gene abnormality prior to study enrollment. The studies were designed to measure objective response rate, the percentage of patients who experienced complete or partial cancer shrinkage. Most patients in the studies had received prior chemotherapy.
In one study, the objective response rate was 50% with a median response duration of 42 weeks. In another, the objective response rate was 61% with a median response duration of 48 weeks.
The FDA based its approval of the Vysis ALK Break Apart FISH Probe Kit on data from 1 of the studies.
Xalkori was reviewed under FDA's priority review program and is being approved under the agency's accelerated approval program. Pfizer is conducting post-marketing clinical trials to further evaluate its clinical benefit.
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.