BBC News – Second firm withdraws drugs from Greece over cuts
pharmaceutical
Right or Wrong?
BBC News – Insulin giant pulls medicine from Greece over price cut
Before you formulate an opinion, make sure to read the last sentence in this article.
By way of compensation, he said the company would make available an insulin product called glucagen, free of charge.
Anticonvulsant Meds and Suicide Risk
Results: The study identified 26 completed suicides, 801 attempted suicides, and 41 violent deaths in 297 620 new episodes of treatment with an anticonvulsant (overall median follow-up, 60 days). The incidence of the composite outcomes of completed suicides, attempted suicides, and violent deaths for anticonvulsants used in at least 100 treatment episodes ranged from 6.2 per 1000 person-years for primidone to 34.3 per 1000 person-years for oxcarbazepine. The risk of suicidal acts was increased for gabapentin (hazard ratio [HR], 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-1.80), lamotrigine (HR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.43-2.37), oxcarbazepine (HR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.52-2.80), tiagabine (HR, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.65-3.52), and valproate (HR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.25-2.19), compared with topiramate. The analyses including violent death produced similar results. Gabapentin users had increased risk in subgroups of younger and older patients, patients with mood disorders, and patients with epilepsy or seizure when compared with carbamazepine.
Conclusion: This exploratory analysis suggests that the use of gabapentin, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, and tiagabine, compared with the use of topiramate, may be associated with an increased risk of suicidal acts or violent deaths.
Combination Therapy for Crohn’s
Better Treatment Found for Crohn’s Disease – BusinessWeek
The international trial included 508 people with Crohn’s disease who had never been treated with immunosuppressive drugs. One-third were given infliximab alone, one-third received only azathioprine and one-third were treated with both. The trial was funded by Centocor Ortho Biotech, which markets infliximab, and Schering-Plough.
After 26 weeks, 56.8 percent of those getting combination therapy had complete remission of symptoms, compared to 44.4 percent of those getting only infliximab and 30 percent of those getting only azathioprine.
Generic NTG Lacks FDA Approval
After reading this article I remain in a state of disbelief.
F.D.A. Says Millions Got Unapproved Nitroglycerin – NYTimes.com
The problem of the unapproved tablets stems from a longstanding ambiguity about the rules for drugs whose use predates the establishment of the F.D.A. in 1938. Only one brand of nitroglycerin pills is federally approved: Nitrostat, made by Pfizer, on the market since 2000.
Don’t Take Plavix if You Are a Poor Metabolizer
A “poor metabolizer” does not effectively convert Plavix to its active form because of low CYP 2C19 activity.
How does someone figure out they are a “poor metabolizer”?
Read the FDA communication if you’re seriously interested in the answer to this question.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has added a Boxed Warning to the label for Plavix, the anti-blood clotting medication. The Boxed Warning is about patients who do not effectively metabolize the drug (i.e. “poor metabolizers”) and therefore may not receive the full benefits of the drug.
Byetta – Watch That Kidney Function
From April 2005 to October 2008, FDA received 78 reports of altered kidney function in patients treated with Byetta. Some of the patients had pre-existing kidney disease and other risk factors for developing kidney problems. Acute renal failure occurred in 62 patients and renal insufficiency in 16 patients.
Dimebon Alzheimer’s Treatment (not yet)
The Associated Press: Pfizer Alzheimer’s disease drug fails in study
The Boomers are aging and Alzheimer’s incidence is expected to increase. This is disappointing news.
Venlafaxine and SCD Risk
Conclusions In this large, population based study, the use of venlafaxine was not associated with an excess risk of sudden cardiac death or near death compared with fluoxetine, dosulepin, or citalopram, in patients with depression or anxiety.
ASA May Reduce CVD and All-Cause Mortality in T2DM
RESULTS There were 160 deaths (24.6%) during follow-up, with 70 (43.8%) due to CVD. In Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, there was no difference in either CVD or all-cause mortality in aspirin users versus nonusers (P = 0.52 and 0.94, respectively, by log-rank test). After adjustment for significant variables in the most parsimonious Cox models, regular aspirin use at baseline independently predicted reduced CVD and all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 0.30 [95% CI 0.09–0.95] and 0.53 [0.28–0.98[, respectively; P ≤ 0.044). In subgroup analyses, aspirin use was independently associated with reduced all-cause mortality in those aged ≥65 years and men.
CONCLUSIONS Regular low-dose aspirin may reduce all-cause and CVD mortality in a primary prevention setting in type 2 diabetes. All-cause mortality reductions are greatest in men and in those aged ≥65 years. The present observational data support recommendations that aspirin should be used in primary CVD prevention in all but the lowest risk patients.
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