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Future 2 Trial Shows Secukinumab Efficacy in Psoriatic Arthritis
Secukinumab (Cosentyx) is an anti-IL-17 monoclonal antibody currently approved for use in moderate to severe psoriasis. It has also been studied in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and shown to be safe and effective.
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ACR Position on MOC Highlighted in Newsweek
Newsweek has reported that the American Board of Internal Medicine has struggled in the last year with increasing criticism over its requirements for maintenance of certification, or MOC.
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Gout: New Classification Criteria from ACR/EULAR
The American College of Rheumatology and the European League against Rheumatism joined forces to finalize classification criteria for gout, a condition that affects 8.3 million Americans.
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Funding for Rheumatology Research in Decline
The Rheumatology Research Foundation and Rheumatology News report that research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) dropped by 52% from 2010 to 2014, while the number funded by private foundations fell by 29% over that period.
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Drug Safety Reports & FDA Updates – August 2015
Safety reports from literature include long-term safety of rituximab, rituximab-induced neutropenia, tabalumab (Anti-BAFF Mab) results from the ILLUMINATE trial, colchicine toxicity increased in CKD patients, FDA updates and drug labeling changes, and more.
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Romosozumab Surpasses Teraparitide in the STRUCTURE Study
The experimental bone drug, romosozumab, has succeeded in meeting its primary endpoint by showing it was significantly more effective than teriparatide in a 12-month study assessing total hip bone density in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.
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Valeant Acquires Brodalumab from Astra-Zeneca
Reuters reports that Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (a Canadian Pharmaceutical company) is buying rights to AstraZeneca's late-stage experimental psoriasis drug, brodalumab, after it was dropped by codeveloper Amgen Inc in May. Amgen pulled out of the project b
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Female "Viagra Pill" Controversy - Grandstanding or Equal Rights?
The FDA is under pressure over the recent approval of the "female viagra" pill. On August 18th, the FDA announced its approval for Addyi (flibanserin) to treat acquired, generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in premenopausal women.
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Poll: Americans Favor Federal Action on Drug Prices
Most Americans value the prescription products the drug industry produces, but they sure don't like the prices and want the federal government to take action, according to a new survey
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Amgen Agrees to $71 Million Settlement over Enbrel & Aranesp Promotion
Based on potentiallly off-label promotion of blockbuster drugs Aranesp and Enbrel, Amgen has agreed to a $71 million settlement with 48 states and the District of Columbia.
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Specialty Society Guidelines Must Evolve to Improve
The current JAMA issue examines the process and potential flaws of society clinical practice guidelines -a timely commentary as we await the 2015 ACR RA treatment guidelines first presented at the 2014 ACR meeting in Boston and slated for upcoming publication in Arthritis & Rheumatology
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Heel Pain, Uveitis, TB, Vitamin D, Hidradenitis: July 2015 top social media news
In July 2015, RheumNow published 73 tweets about impactful news, research and teaching points that I feel will have an impact on the rheumatology community. We had a reach (impressions) of 49,900, 63 mentions, and 1277 visits to RheumNow.com to check out what we publish.
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AstraZeneca Pushes Forward on Brodalumab Development
Despite Amgen's withdrawal as a co-developer of brodalumab, the anti-IL17A monoclonal antibody, AstraZeneca has announced it will push its plan to develop the drug. Brodalumab is currently in phase III trials for use in psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
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Cymbalta Lawsuit Alleges Downplay of Withdrawal Symptoms
An estimated 250 people have filed lawsuits against Lilly claiming the company failed to warn users of Cymbalta that they may suffer withdrawal symptoms if the drug was stopped abruptly, including suicidal thoughts and electric shock-like sensations.
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Safety Reports in the News
Can We Do Better than FAERS? Brian Overstreet (of Adverseevents.com) has written on MedPageToday.com about the current state of adverse event reporting.
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Not All Placebos are Equal: The Needle is Mightier than the Pill
Placebos are necessary to determine the “true effect” of any medical intervention. As such, they have become the cornerstone of evidence-based medicine, randomized controlled clinical trials and novel drug development.
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Outcry Over the Cost of Drugs
Several news articles have addressed the rising concern by patients and physicians over the cost of newer drugs. This issue comes to a head as more than 100 oncologists from top cancer hospitals around the U.S.
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DSB: Drug Shortages July 2015
Several drugs continue to be in short supply, posing significant problems for patients. Foremost on this list is leflunomide (Arava) which is backordered for both 10 mg and 20 mg tablets.
Leflunomide Shortage
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IRB Conflicts of Interest Persist
Committees at academic institutions that make decisions on research and clinical trials may be conflicted, as nearly one-third of IRB members have some ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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21st Century Cures Act Passes in the House
On Friday, July 10th, the U.S. House voted overwhelmingly to streamline the approval process of prescription drugs and medical devices by the FDA.
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