Prescription Drug News and Research

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FDA grants priority review for Revlimid

Celgene Corporation announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a Priority Review designation to its Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for REVLIMID (lenalidomide) for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

6 Mar 2006

FDA shields drug companies from lawsuits

Last month, the FDA revealed its latest protective policy for drug companies in a statement that said people who believe they have been injured by drugs approved by the FDA should not be allowed to sue drug companies in state courts.

1 Mar 2006

Hand-held device for detecting illegal and legal drugs

A real-time sensor for detecting cocaine - made with inexpensive, off-the-shelf electronics - has been developed by a team of researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

1 Mar 2006

Teatments based on behaviour could reduce prescription drug use

New psychological treatments - behavioural medicine - could significantly reduce the need for drug treatments for some conditions, cutting health system costs says an editorial in this week's British Medical Journal.

27 Feb 2006

Common practice of prescribing H2 blockers to treat acid reflux in premature infants should be discontinued

Researchers in an NIH network have found that premature infants given a common class of non-prescription drugs used to treat acid reflux are slightly more likely to develop a potentially fatal bowel disorder than are infants who are not treated with the drugs

24 Feb 2006

Over-the-counter decongestant as good as prescription drug in relieving hay fever symptoms

There is no significant difference between an over-the-counter decongestant and a prescription medication that costs almost four times as much in relieving hay fever symptoms, report researchers from the University of Chicago in the February issue of Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery.

24 Feb 2006

Adverse drug events believed to be among the leading causes of mortality in the United States

Less than 1 percent of outpatients who received medication in 2002 were prescribed a medication that violated a prescription drug's black box warning, according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

16 Feb 2006

Most Americans don't know about Health Savings Accounts

A new nationally representative poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation examines what the public took away from President Bush’s State of the Union address, finding that the health messages in the speech have yet to register with most Americans.

16 Feb 2006

New FDA report says earlier meetings w/FDA make drug review process more efficient

The FDA has released a new report that takes carefully examines the way the agency reviews applications for drugs and biologics that have not previously been approved by the FDA.

16 Feb 2006

Girls are catching up with boys in use of illicit substances

Despite commonly held beliefs that boys are at higher risk for using illegal substances, data indicate that girls have caught up with boys in illicit drug and alcohol use and have actually surpassed boys in cigarette and prescription drug use. There are also more girls who are new users of substances than boys.

13 Feb 2006

Heart risk warning wanted on ADHD drugs

A U.S. advisory panel has recommended that drugs used by millions to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), should carry a warning of the risk of heart problems.

12 Feb 2006

Many at-risk people aren't getting adequate cholesterol treatment

Even though treatment for cholesterol disorders can reduce the risk of heart and blood vessel disease by about 30 percent over five years, many at-risk people aren't getting adequate treatment, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues reporting in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

7 Feb 2006

FDA panel gives weight-loss drug the thumbs up

An FDA advisory panel has declared that an over-the-counter weight-loss drug appears to be safe and effective for a six month period of use.

24 Jan 2006

French defend drug after patients develop liver problems

Health authorities in the U.S. are recommending that doctors keep a close eye on patients taking Ketek for signs of liver problems and to stop treatment if symptoms develop.

24 Jan 2006

FDA warns diet drugs contain Prozac and Librium

The FDA has issued a warning to consumers that diet pills from Brazil have been found to contain active drug ingredients which are possibly harmful.

16 Jan 2006

Psychotropic drug prescriptions for teenagers has skyrocketed

Psychotropic drug prescriptions for teenagers skyrocketed 250 percent between 1994 and 2001, rising particularly sharply after 1999, when the federal government allowed direct-to-consumer advertising and looser promotion of off-label use of prescription drugs

6 Jan 2006

Americans don't need to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs!

A study of drug costs around the world revealed proven methods that could be used to reduce costs in the United States, according to a researcher from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

6 Jan 2006

California Governor urges drug imports; Canadian Pharmacies have already delivered

This week California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appealed to Congress to allow Americans to import affordable prescription drugs from Canada and other countries.

5 Jan 2006

Canada's first prescription drug atlas maps billions in spending

Researchers at the University of British Columbia Centre for Health Services and Policy Research have developed a comprehensive portrait of pharmaceutical spending in Canada -- more than $20 billion by the end of 2005 -- and assembled the results into a first-of-its-kind atlas.

15 Dec 2005

Impact of Medicare drug law on retiree health benefits

Four in five businesses (79%) that now provide retiree health benefits will accept government subsidies for continuing to provide retiree drug coverage at least as good as Medicare’s coverage when the new drug benefit starts in 2006, according to a new survey of 300 of the nation’s largest private-sector employers conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates.

15 Dec 2005