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Investigators had already determined that the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) formulation slowed the progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), with a 25% decrease in the likelihood of progression to advanced AMD compared with placebo.

Obesity is associated with an increased risk of infection. Unfortunately clinical trials examining the safety and efficacy of antibiotics in obese patients are deficient. Thus, clinicians predominately rely on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data for appropriate antibiotic dosing. The current literature for vancomycin, aminoglycosides, beta-lactams, fluoroquinolones, linezolid, and macrolides was reviewed to evaluate appropriate dosing in obese patients. Due to the limited number of studies and various pharmacokinetic parameters of antibiotics, dosing should be based on both patient- and drug-specific factors.

ICORE Healthcare-a subsidiary of Magellan Pharmacy Solutions-released the latest installment of its annual Medical Pharmacy & Oncology Trend Report.1 This report is unique in that it is the only trend and spend report that looks specifically at the medical benefit, under which almost half of all specialty pharmaceutical costs are currently managed and paid. Now in its third year, the report’s findings indicate that specialty pharmaceuticals are continuing to play an increasingly large role in managed care plan budgets and are certainly deserving of the increased payer attention they are receiving.

Prime Therapeutics LLC (Prime) helps people get the medicine they need to feel better and live well. The company is headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., and manages pharmacy benefits for health plans, employers, and government programs including Medicare and Medicaid. The company processes claims and delivers medicine to nearly 20 million members, offering clinical services for people with complex medical conditions. Prime is collectively owned by 13 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans, subsidiaries or affiliates of those plans.

In April 2013, FDA approved doxylamine succinate 10 mg, pyridoxine hydrochloride 10 mg (Diclegis, Duchesnay) for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnant women who do not respond to conservative management. Diclegis is a delayed-release formulation combining 10 mg of the antihistamine doxylamine succinate and 10 mg of the vitamin B6 analog pyridoxine hydrochloride. This combination was once marketed in the United States as Bendectin. However, legal suits claiming related birth defects forced the manufacturer to withdraw Bendectin from the market in the 1980s. Doxylamine/pyridoxine has not been studied in women with hyperemesis gravidarum.

The 4-year data from the landmark ENESTnd (Evaluating Nilotinib Efficacy and Safety in Clinical Trials – Newly Diagnosed Patients) trial continues to demonstrate the improved clinical benefit of front-line nilotinib (Tasigna) versus imatinib (Gleevec) in patients with newly diagnosed, Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in chronic phase

For chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients with minimal residual disease on long-term imatinib (Gleevec) therapy, switching to nilotinib (Tasigna) can lead to deep, sustained responses.

The effectiveness of new drugs compared with that of older drugs has fallen since the 1970s, according to a new study in Health Affairs.

The Men’s Health Network (MHN) is hoping actor Michael Douglas’ assertion that his throat cancer was caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) contracted during oral sex will provoke more males to get the HPV vaccine.

The addition of everolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, to trastuzumab and vinorelbine in heavily pretreated advanced breast cancer patients led to a 22% reduction in the risk of disease progression in the first phase 3 study showing that inhibition of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 positive (HER2+) receptor and mTOR provides significant benefit in HER2+ advanced breast cancer.

Octreotide LAR not only prolongs time to progression (TTP) but also appears to extend overall survival (OS) in a subgroup of patients with metastatic midgut neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and a low hepatic load.

Incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has decreased dramatically since its emergence in the early 1980s, but it remains a worldwide epidemic. There is a reduction in newly diagnosed patients, but prevalence is increasing due to a longer life expectancy, which is attributed in part to highly effective antiretroviral therapies. Newly approved and investigational antiretroviral therapies provide additional options for the healthcare team to prevent progression of disease as well as transmission of HIV. Early detection and prevention of HIV is still paramount with the use of in-home HIV testing as well as antiretrovirals for pre-exposure prophylaxis. While many advances in HIV diagnosis and treatment have been made, the importance of education and risk avoidance cannot be underestimated.

Complete response, priority review and orphan drug designations.

Educating pediatricians in their offices, auditing their prescription patterns, and leveraging a shared electronic health record, encourages them to choose more appropriate antibiotics for children with common respiratory infections, according to a study published in the June 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Medicinal cannabis, despite its emerging popularity, presents unique issues to managed care and hospital decision makers. Exactly how does a quasi-legal substance, which has existed outside the sphere of mainstream medicine, become integrated into a traditional hospital and managed care setting?

FDA issued a warning July 3 that olmesartan medoxomil, an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), may cause sprue-like enteropathy several months to years after initiation of treatment.

As more individuals tap into subsidies, costs of reform will increase

Opioid overdose deaths in women in the United States increased fivefold from 1999 to 2010. During the same time period, the risk of opioid pain reliever (OPR) deaths in men increased 3.6 times, according to the July 2 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) will be hosting a new conference, Nexus 2013, October 15-18 in San Antonio, Texas. Nexus 2013 will aim to simplify the complex healthcare system and find new and innovative solutions by bringing together people from both sides of the equation. The new conference will be replacing AMCP’s Education Conference.

There was both bad and good news from the National Community Pharmacists Association’s (NCPA) national medication adherence report card survey results released recently.

In addition to boosting patient health outcomes, medication therapy management (MTM) is vital to a pharmacy’s bottom line, according to various speakers participating in the recent Pharmacy Quality Alliance’s webinar “Boosting MTM Program Compliance.”

Code limits the deduction that may be taken for compensation paid to officers, board members

Start ups receive mentoring and investment to bring innovative ideas to healthcare

Regulations require CEOs be informed of corporate efforts

Fewer anticonvulsant medications were on the inexpensive Part D formulary tiers than in the commercial plans

Literacy, language barriers, confusion call for combined efforts to raise awareness

As new payment arrangements take shape, be prepared to integrate data from providers

Protect yourself through a change in law clause that allows you to terminate a contract