New molecular entity: Lacosamide (Vimpat), an antiepileptic drug, was approved on October 28, 2008, as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial-onset seizures in patients with epilepsy aged 17 years or older
Formulary Watch
Latest News
Today's Top Stories
All News
Advertisement
New molecular entity: Silodosin (Rapaflo), an alpha-blocker, was approved on October 8, 2008, for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of BPH
In 2003, the Canadian Forces (CF) drug benefit plan used preferential listing to control costs associated with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs); however, significant expenditures for nonbenefit PPIs continued. A database review was thus conducted to explain this anomalous usage pattern. This study provides further information regarding the effectiveness of preferred listing as a cost-saving measure, noting that adherence to such policies may be less than projected.
Agents in late-stage development for the treatment of multiple sclerosis
{!-- --}
{!-- --}
{!-- --}
{!-- --}
On November 7, the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco, California, overturned a previous ruling in the case of Conte v Wyeth and ruled that Wyeth, the manufacturer of Reglan (metoclopramide), should be held responsible for harm caused to Elizabeth Conte, who developed tardive dyskinesia after taking generic metoclopramide for nearly 4 years. The court upheld the previous ruling in favor of Purepac, Pliva, and Teva, manufacturers of generic metoclopramide.
In a large, population-based cohort study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, current use of statins by patients hospitalized with pneumonia was associated with a decreased risk of death after hospital admission compared with nonusers of statins.
Advertisement
Compared with biguanides, thiazolidinediones, meglitinides, and second-generation sulfonylureas, metformin is the sole oral therapy associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular (CV) mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a meta-analysis published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
In a survey of trends in diabetes treatment from 1994 to 2007, investigators observed an increasing incidence of diabetes, a greater variety of drugs and combinations available for treatment, and a marked increase in the annual cost of diabetes medications.
On November 3, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Wyeth v Levine; the ultimate decision of the Court on this case may set a precedent on the issue of pre-emption, a tenet that FDA actions regarding drug approvals and medication safety supersede state laws.
As conflicts of interest between academia and the pharmaceutical industry are again under investigation, several pharmaceutical companies and universities are beginning to change their policies on disclosures and funding.
One month after Merck announced that the company was discontinuing development of taranabant, an investigational selective blocker of the cannabinoid-1 (CB-1) receptor that was being studied for the treatment of obesity, Sanofi-Aventis and Pfizer announced that they were also halting the development of their investigational CB-1 receptor antagonists (rimonabant and CP-945,598, respectively).
On November 7, 2008, a California Intermediate Appellate Court in San Francisco held that the "common-law duty [of Wyeth] to use due care in formulating its product warnings extends to patients whose doctors foreseeably rely on its product information when prescribing metoclopramide, whether the prescription is written for and/or filled with Reglan or its generic equivalent."
A phase 2/3 trial of atacicept in combination with mycophenolate mofetil and corticosteroids for the treatment of lupus nephritis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus has been discontinued.
New Orleans-Subjects without symptoms of heart disease who have microalbuminuria are more likely to have coronary artery calcium and are more likely to have progression of coronary artery calcium over time than those without microalbuminuria, says Andrew P. DeFilippis, MD.
New Orleans-A new type of stent coated with an antibody that binds circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) is associated with a low rate of stent thrombosis and requires only 1 month of dual antiplatelet therapy. Drug-eluting stents require at least 6 months of dual antiplatelet therapy to reduce the risk of stent thrombosis.
New Orleans-Early reperfusion is crucial to maintaining cardiac myocytes in patients suffering a heart attack yet many patients refuse to seek medical care until hours after symptom onset, if at all.
New Orleans-The use of irbesartan for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) failed to improve outcomes compared to placebo, says Barry Massie, MD, investigator for the Irbesartan in Heart Failure with Preserved EF (I-PRESERVE) trial. These results are consistent with two previous trials (CHARM PRESERVED, PEP-CHF) that failed to show a positive effect with an angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) for these patients, explains Dr. Massie, University of California, San Francisco.
New Orleans-An aerobic exercise program modestly reduces death and hospitalization in patients with chronic heart failure, according to results from a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
New Orleans-Obese children, particularly those with elevated triglycerides, have a “vascular age” similar to those of 45-year-old white men, says Geetha Raghuveer, MD, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. “I think this is a wake up call,” she says. “These children may need intensive management including pharmacological management of risk factors.
New Orleans-Mid-regional pro-adrenomedullin (MR-proADM) is a better biomarker for predicting short-term mortality in patients presenting with shortness of breath who are diagnosed with heart failure, according to results of the Biomarkers in the Assessment of Congestive Heart Failure (BACH) trial. Use of this marker was significantly more accurate than brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N-terminal prohormone BNP (NT-proBNP) in detecting which heart failure patients were likely to die.
Precisely defining intermediate cardiovascular-event risk using the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) is a challenge for clinicians. This is magnified when one considers that the number of patients who fall under the intermediate risk category outnumbers those considered low or high risk.
By itself, use of electronic health records (EHRs) does not improve the quality of care for heart failure, says Mary Norine Walsh, MD.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Trending on Managed Healthcare Executive
1
Music and painting dual art therapy improves cognitive and social functions of hospitalized schizophrenia patients, study suggests
2
Biosimilars in 2025: A year of firsts
3
Looking ahead: What the MHE 2025 State of the Industry survey tells us about 2026
4
Early ctDNA clearance signals stronger Ordspono responses in relapsed lymphomas
5
