Drug Pipeline

The investigational vasopeptidase inhibitor omapatrilat is as effective as enalapril in preventing major adverse cardiac outcomes in patients with moderate to severe heart failure, but failed to show superiority, said Milton Packer, MD.

LIPS: Statin reduces cardiac event risk by 22% in first PCI procedureAzithromax ineffective for reducing recurrent CV events

Drug therapy to control heart rate is at least as effective as antiarrhythmicdrug therapy in preventing adverse clinical events in patients with atrialfibrillation (AF), according to separate studies.

Therapy starting with the angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) losartansignificantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular outcomes and new-onsetdiabetes compared with a beta blocker in older high-risk hypertensive patients,said Björn Dahlöf, MD. The improved outcomes with losartan occurredeven after adjusting for small differences in blood pressure reduction betweenthe two study drugs.

Atlanta-The low-molecular-weight heparin enoxaparin improves outcomes compared with currently recommended therapy in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (ACS) who are being treated with a glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitor, said Shaun Goodman, MD.

Lercanidipine is currently under FDA review for the management of hypertension. In comparative clinical trials, lercanidipine has shown antihypertensive efficacy comparable to that of slow-release nifedipine, amlodipine, nitrendipine, verapamil, captopril, and atenolol. Its side effect profile is similar or superior to these agents. This Focus article reviews those trials as well as lercanidipine?s pharmacologic properties and addresses the agent?s potential role in patients with comorbid conditions.

Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are prescribed most often for depression disorders, they are increasingly being used to treat a variety of other conditions. In this article, the authors assess the evidence on anxiety disorders—generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and social phobia. For each condition, they present the rationale for SSRI use, the degree of supportive clinical trial evidence, indication-specific dosing and safety considerations, and their recommendations for the preferred and alternative SSRIs.

Adding the investigational cholesterol absorption inhibitor ezetimibe to statin therapy results in additional reductions in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol of up to 14%.

There is is a rising chorus in Washington and across the nation for action to control increased prescription drug expenditures.

The American Psychiatric Association has issued updated guidelines for the treatment of patients with bipolar disorder. The guidelines were last updated in 1994.

Last month the FDA's Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee unanimously supported loratadine's (Claritin, Schering-Plough) switch from prescription to over-the-counter status for treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria, moving the drug one step closer to full OTC status (see significant event timeline in sidebar).

First time generics

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic, recurrent skin disease characterized by intense pruritis (itching) and inflammation. This supplement which was produced through an unrestricted educational grant from Fujisawa Healthcare, Inc. provides you with an overview of the disease and the development of Topic Immunomodulators. The views and opinions expressed in this supplement do not necessarily reflect the views of Formulary.

While the Bush administration persists in promoting a Medicare RxDrug Card plan, pharmaceutical companies continue to unveil their own versions.

Creighton University, Omaha, NE-Despite the evidence that lipid-lowering drug therapy-especially with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins)-is known to save lives and help prevent subsequent events in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients, utilization of this class of drugs is erratic.

Withdrawn: Vaccine discontinued due to poor sales

New indication: Bisphosphonate cleared for multiple myeloma, metastases of solid tumors

New indication: Bisphosphonate cleared for multiple myeloma, metastases of solid tumors.

New biologic: Radioimmunotherapeutic for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

New biologic: Second interferon beta-1a product for relapsing multiple sclerosis

Prompted by a flurry of new evidence, two leading cardiology groups have revised their guidelines for the management of acute coronary syndromes just 18 months after the last revision.

An array of both existing and investigational biologic agents are showing efficacy in clearing psoriasis and may prove useful for long-term psoriasis management. So suggests a collection of studies presented at the 60th annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, held recently in New Orleans.

Three-year data have confirmed the effectiveness of a strategy that eliminated all third-generation cephalosporins from a formulary as a means to control the emergence of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE).

Providing formulary information on PDA devices improves formulary compliance and is gaining in physician acceptance as well. These were the findings of a 4-month pilot program involving 104 Connecticut-based physicians conducted by ePocrates and AdvancePCS.

Stopping statins after the onset of symptoms completely negates the drugs'protective effect in hospitalized patients with acute coronary syndromes(ACS). So concludes a new subgroup analysis of the PRISM trial.

Concerns about possible unintended consequences of reference pricing-atleast when applied to ACE inhibitors-appear to be unfounded, according toa new analysis of Canadian data.

For the first time, a beta blocker has been surpassed by another classof antihypertensive drug for the prevention of cardiovascular events inpatients with hypertension.

Seldom are the attributes of drugs under formulary consideration conveniently measured on the same scale, and if they are, they typically do not carry the same weight in a decision. Fortunately, application of Multiattribute Utility Technology (MAUT) provides a way to incorporate several valued attributes of disparate weights into a unitary measure for the purpose of evaluating options. This month's column presents the core elements of MAUT and explores its use in the drug evaluation process through a mock formulary committee example.

Rosuvastatin is an investigational HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor expected to gain FDA approval later this year for treatment of hypercholesterolemia. It has significantly exceeded atorvastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin in reducing LDL cholesterol in clinical trials. This Focus article reviews those trials as well as rosuvastatin's pharmacologic and safety profiles in an effort to delineate its likely role in cholesterol-reducing therapy.

These authors report on their literature search of studies assessing the impact of factors influencing the diffusion of new drug therapies and physicians' adoption and eventual relinquishment of those therapies. They specifically explore how their finds can help better align physician prescribing with formulary objectives.