NEW YORK (Reuters)—A vast majority of Americans say the Medicare health program for the elderly should be able to negotiate with drug companies to set lower medication prices, a practice currently prohibited by law, according to a survey released on Friday. The poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 87% of people surveyed…
Did Reports of Side Effects Contribute to Drop in Bone Drug Use?
(Reuters Health)—Media reports raising safety concerns about osteoporosis drugs known as bisphosphonates may have contributed to a sharp drop in their use—even though U.S. doctors and drug regulators haven’t recommended against taking them, a study suggests. Fosamax (alendronate sodium) won U.S. marketing approval in 1995. Widespread use of the drug and others like it over…
Certolizumab Pegol Effective for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Certolizumab pegol, a humanized anti-TNF antibody fragment conjugated to polyethylene glycol, is effective for treating early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with poor prognostic factors, according to results from the C-OPERA study. Certolizumab is approved in the U.S. and other countries for treating inflammatory diseases, including RA, but its effectiveness in methotrexate-naïve early RA…
Tofacitinib Not Tied to More Malignancies in RA Patients
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The oral Janus kinase inhibitor tofacitinib (Xeljanz, Pfizer) does not increase the risk of malignancies, according to pooled data from more than 5000 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. In an April 22 online paper in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Dr. Lisy Wang of Pfizer, Groton, Connecticut, and colleagues noted that in RA…
Teriparatide to Denosumab Switch Helpful in Osteoporosis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—In postmenopausal osteoporotic women, changing from teriparatide to denosumab benefits bone mineral density (BMD) but switching from denosumab to teriparatide may result in bone loss, according to new research. In a July 3 online paper in The Lancet, Dr. Benjamin Z. Leder, of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues noted that many…
Greece Bans Export of 25 Drugs after Pharmacists’ Supply Warnings
ATHENS (Reuters)—Greece has decided to ban the export of 25 types of drugs, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, following warnings by pharmacists that they faced difficulties in securing some supplies. A ministry spokeswoman said the Greek drugs regulator had told a meeting at the ministry on Friday —when the pharmacists made their warnings—that there had…
Secukinumab Effective for Treating Psoriatic Arthritis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The anti-interleukin-17A monoclonal antibody secukinumab improves signs and symptoms in patients with psoriatic arthritis, according to results from Novartis’ FUTURE 2 trial. In earlier studies, secukinumab has demonstrated superior effectiveness to placebo and etanercept in improving the signs and symptoms of psoriasis. Dr. Iain B. McInnes from the University of Glasgow in…
U.S. House Passes Bill to Speed New Drugs to Market
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a bill aimed at speeding new drugs to the market after lawmakers defeated last-minute amendments that threatened to derail it. The House voted 344 to 77 in favor of the bill, known as the 21st Century Cures Act, which would require the FDA to streamline the…
Phase 3 Studies Evaluate Lesinurad for Gout Treatment
For 12 months, two studies examined the use of lesinurad in combination with allopurinol to treat gout, with patients achieving reduced serum uric acid levels and demonstrating no severe toxicity.
FDA Strengthens Warning Label for Certain Antiinflammatory Drugs
(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is strengthening an existing warning label that non-aspirin, non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. NSAIDs include ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac and celecoxib, all of which carry FDA warning labels. The agency said it would require updates to the labels of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC)…
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