News

African-American men and women continue to have higher risks of dying at the first presentation of heart disease compared with their white counterparts, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Self-management has small effects on pain and disability in people with low back pain, according to a study published online in Arthritis Care & Research.

Recent FDA Approvals (through December 2012) related to (Bedaquiline, Janssen, Oseltamivir, Genetech, Apixaban, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lomitapide, Aegerion, Varicella zoster immune globulin preparation, Cangene, Teduglutide, NPS Pharmaceuticals, Pasireotide diaspartate, Novartis, Ponatinib, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Influenza virus vaccine, GlaxoSmithKline, Raxibacumab, Crofelemer, Salix, Cabozantinib, Exelixis)

The smoking-cessation drug varenicline (Chantix, Pfizer) may increase the risk of cardiovascular adverse events, according to an updated safety review from FDA.

Last week, NABP Executive Director Carmen Catizone, MS, RPh, unveiled an action plan to inspect nonresident compounding pharmacies and create a database to share regulatory information about these pharmacies with the state boards of pharmacy nationwide. This was in response to the fungal meningitis outbreak that took the lives of 37 individuals and injured 590.

In the short term, gastric bypass surgery can profoundly improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Experts say consolidation, cooperation and planning for the worst are the best strategies to prepare for 2013.

New guidelines from HHS reveal a fee equal to 3.5% of premiums for plans participating in federal exchanges.

The National Governors Assn. talks Medicaid with President Obama during fiscial policy meetings.

When men are treated for a longer-duration antibiotic therapy for urinary tract infection (UTI), there is no decrease in early recurrence compared with those treated for a shorter duration, according to a study online in Archives of Internal Medicine.

Half of the 3.2 billion prescriptions dispensed annually are not taken as prescribed. Pharmacy benefit leaders must reconsider the financial context of medication adherence and medication possession, according to industry leaders presenting at a recent online seminar for the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute.

Qualitest, a subsidiary of Endo Health Solutions, issued a voluntary nationwide recall Dec. 6 for 101 lots of hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen tablets, USP 10 mg/500 mg, due to the potential for oversized tablets.

Heparin container and carton labels must now clearly state the total drug strength, according to an FDA Drug Safety Communication.

Diabetic patients with ovarian cancer who took the drug metformin for their diabetes had a better survival rate than patients who did not take it, according to a study from Mayo Clinic, published early online in Cancer.

Osteoporosis medication is also effective in men, according to a large-scale, international study, published in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The 32-mg, single intravenous (IV) dose of the anti-nausea drug Zofran (ondansetron hydrochloride) will no longer be marketed because of the potential for serious cardiac risk, according to an updated Safety Communication from FDA.

Medical use of probiotics could be significant in minimizing Clostridium difficile (C difficile) infection among hospitalized patients taking antibiotics, according to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

There is evidence of risk with the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy and to neonatal health and beyond, according to a study published in Human Reproduction.

Recent FDA action (through November 2012) related to, H5N1 adjuvanted influenza vaccine, Pasireotide, Digoxin immune fab, Etirinotecan pegol, OBI-1, beclomethasone 17, 21-dipropionate, Regorafenib, Trastuzumab emtansine, A4250, Sildenafil

Adverse drug events in the elderly can be prevented with appropriate monitoring, according to CDC.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) specialty drug costs now account for more than two-thirds of MS patients' total cost of care, according to a new study presented at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2012 Educational Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, in October.

Individuals with high cholesterol who stay on their statin medications over a 2-year period are healthier than comparable nonadherent individuals, but the overall cost of their care is slightly higher, according to a new study presented at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2012 Education Conference, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in October.

Pre-emptive therapy with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor escitalopram in patients initiating interferon therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) without psychiatric risk factors reduced the risk of depression, according to a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Recent FDA Approvals (through November 2012) related to (Tofacitinib, Pfizer, Omacetaxine mepesuccinate, Teva, rivaroxaban, Janssen, darunavir)

Topical ivermectin provided a good degree of cure in patients with head lice infection with 1 simple and easy-to-use application, according to a study published in the November 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

New molecular entity: FDA approved teriflunomide (Aubagio, Genzyme, a Sanofi-Aventis company), a pyrimidine synthesis inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Women who regularly took the analgesics ibuprofen or acetaminophen 2 more days per week had an increased risk of hearing loss, according to a recent study published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

New combination: FDA approved aclidinium bromide (Tudorza Pressair, Forest) for the long-term maintenance treatment of bronchospasm associated with COPD.