Drug Formulary Review articles from May 2004

Drug Formulary Review archives from May 2004

Statin research calls current guidelines into question: LDL-C levels may need to be lower than 100 mg/dL.
May 1, 2004... New research is challenging the current guidelines of how to treat atherosclerotic coronary disease with statin drugs. Current guidelines by the National Cholesterol Education Program have set a therapy target of 100 mg/dL. Two recent...

Hospital develops unit-based pharmacist program: the switch results in 90%+ success rate.(Computerized physician order entry)
May 1, 2004... Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) may be one way to curb medication errors. The reality, however, is that most health care centers have not implemented such a program--and may never will. CPOE systems are expensive, and some...

Medications approved switch from IV to PO.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Here are the medications that clinical pharmacists at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY, can switch from IV to PO without first getting physician approval. (The hospital's medical board and pharmacy &...

Testing shows women unaware of fracture risk: project shows collaboration across continuum.
May 1, 2004... Pharmacists in a recent project screened and counseled patients about their risk for bone fractures--and found that most of them (78%) had no knowledge of their risk prior to the screening. Results of Project ImPACT: Osteoporosis suggest...

Fentanyl (Duragesic) recall is expanded.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Janssen Pharmaceutica Products has expanded its recall of fentanyl transdermal system (Duragesic) CII 75 mcg/hr, NDC #50458-035-05 from one lot to five. The control numbers are 0327192 (exp. 10/05), 0327193 (exp. 10/05), 0327294 (exp. 11/05),...

Most hospital pharmacists monitor medication therapy.
May 1, 2004... Almost all pharmacists in United States hospitals regularly monitor patients' medication therapy in some capacity, according to results of the 2003 ASHP (America Society of Health-System Pharmacists) National Survey of Pharmacy Practice in...

Study: early treatment with thrombolytic t-PA for stroke.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... A study in the March 6 issue of The Lancet confirms the benefits of getting stroke patients to the hospital quickly for rapid thrombolytic treatment, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a part of...

Sponsors announced for Medicare drug discount card.(Health and Human Services)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has announced the approval of 28 private sponsors to provide seniors and people with disabilities savings on their prescription drugs, beginning June 1. With the new cards, Medicare...

New FDA approvals.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... These drugs recently received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): * Cinacalcet (Sensipar) by Amgen. The FDA has approved cinacalcet (Sensipar), a drug to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with...

Delex Therapeutics has dosed the first patients in the company's Phase II clinical trial of aerosolized liposome encapsulated fentanyl (AeroLEF).(In The Pipeline)(Aerosolized liposome encapsulated fentanyl)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Delex Therapeutics has dosed the first patients in the company's Phase II clinical trial of aerosolized liposome encapsulated fentanyl (AeroLEF) in post-surgical patients. The objective of this study is to confirm the analgesic effects of...

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has announced.(In The Pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has announced that the FDA has determined that the company's investigational product, Staphylococcus aureus Immune Globulin (Human) (Altastaph) for immediate protection against S. aureus infections in neonates, has...

Kosan Biosciences has announced the start of a Phase Ib clinical trial.(In The Pipeline)(KOS-862 (Epothilone D))(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Kosan Biosciences has announced the start of a Phase Ib clinical trial to evaluate KOS-862 (Epothilone D) as an anticancer therapy in combination with gemcitabine HCl (Gemzar) in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Transkaryotic Therapies has announced that its clinical trial evaluating iduronate-2-sulfatase (I2S) has completed patient enrollment.(In The Pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Transkaryotic Therapies has announced that its clinical trial evaluating iduronate-2-sulfatase (I2S) has completed patient enrollment. I2S is TKT's investigational enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of Hunter syndrome (MPS II).

Inhibitex has begun enrollment in a Phase II clinical trial for Aurexis.(In The Pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Inhibitex has begun enrollment in a Phase II clinical trial for Aurexis, a humanized monoclonal antibody being developed as a first-line therapy, in combination with standard of care antibiotics, for S. aureus bloodstream infections in...

Vion Pharmaceuticals has received fast-track designation from the FDA for VNP40101M (Cloretazine).(In The Pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Vion Pharmaceuticals has received fast-track designation from the FDA for VNP40101M (Cloretazine) in relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

Micromet AG has initiated a randomized, open-label, international, Phase II trial.(In The Pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Micromet AG has initiated a randomized, open-label, international, Phase II trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of fully human antibody MT201 for the treatment of breast cancer patients who experienced a metastatic relapse.

Threshold Pharmaceuticals has begun a Phase I clinical trial of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG).(In The Pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Threshold Pharmaceuticals has begun a Phase I clinical trial of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG). 2-DG selectively targets the slow-growing but highly metastatic cells within the poorly vascularized zones of solid tumors.

Amicus Therapeutics has announced that the FDA has granted orphan-drug status.(In The Pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Amicus Therapeutics has announced that the FDA has granted orphan-drug status for the company's first clinical candidate, AT1001, for the treatment of Fabry disease.

EntreMed has announced that a new formulation of 2-Methoxyestradiol, 2ME2 (Panzem) currently is being evaluated in a Phase I clinical trial.(In The Pipeline)(2ME2 (Panzem) )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * EntreMed has announced that a new formulation of 2-Methoxyestradiol, 2ME2 (Panzem) currently is being evaluated in a Phase I clinical trial. 2-Methoxyestradiol, 2ME2 has been tested in cancer patients as a single agent, as well as in...

NeuroMed Technologies has initiated Phase I clinical testing for its lead drug candidate, NMED-160.(In The Pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * NeuroMed Technologies has initiated Phase I clinical testing for its lead drug candidate, NMED-160 (a calcium channel blocker) for chronic pain.

Panacos Pharmaceuticals has begun a Phase I clinical trial.(In The Pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Panacos Pharmaceuticals has begun a Phase I clinical trial of its small molecule HIV drug candidate PA-457.

Pharmos Corp. has completed patient enrollment in its Phase III study of dexanabinol.(In The Pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Pharmos Corp. has completed patient enrollment in its Phase III study of dexanabinol for the treatment of severe traumatic brain injury.

Targeted Genetics has initiated a Phase I clinical trial of its product candidate, tgAAC94.(In The Pipeline)(tgAAC94)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Targeted Genetics has initiated a Phase I clinical trial of its product candidate, tgAAC94, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Genmab A/S announced that HuMax-CD4, an antibody that targets the CD4 receptor on T-lymphocytes, has been designated a fast-track product by the FDA.(In The Pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... * Genmab A/S announced that HuMax-CD4, an antibody that targets the CD4 receptor on T-lymphocytes, has been designated a fast-track product by the FDA. This designation covers patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma who have failed currently...

Aprepitant (Emend) formulary evaluation: mechanism of action, indications, special populations, adverse reactions, drug interactions, and precautions.
May 1, 2004... Drugs used in combination: Dexamethasone (Decadron)--Merck Ondansetron (Zofran)--GlaxoSmithKline Granisetron (Kytril)--Roche Mechanism of action Aprepitant (Emend) is unique from other drugs used for chemotherapy-induced nausea...