Tofacitinib Promising for Psoriatic Arthritis & FDA Issues Alert for Warning for Saxagliptin & Alogliptin Diabetes Treatments

Healthcare professionals who identify patients who develop heart failure symptoms while taking alogliptin or saxagliptin should consider discontinuing these medications and seek other medications for glucose control.

Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to medication use to FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting Program.

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, CGP, RPh, is a freelance medical writer based in New York City and a pharmacist at New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital.

References

1. Pfizer Inc. News release: Pfizer announces positive top-line results from the first phase 3 trial of investigational tofacitinib in adults with psoriatic arthritis. 2016 Apr 5.
2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Safety alert: Diabetes medications containing aaxagliptin and slogliptin: drug safety communication—risk of heart failure. 2016 Apr 5.