Dr. Peter Taylor and colleagues presented their results of the 52-week BEAM trial wherein baricitinib (a JAK 1, 2 inhibitor) was compared to adalimumab in both clinical and radiographic outcomes. This was the most viewed abstract online at the ACR website.

ACR 2015 RA treatment guidelines were published yesterday, nearly a year after they were preliminarily presented at the 2014 ACR meeting in Boston. After a year of review and revision these have been posted.

An FDA Advisory Panel reviewed the safety of fluoroquinolones and their use to treat sinus infections, urinary-tract infections and bronchitis.

JAMA reports the results of trends in drug use in the USA over a 13 year period using data derived 37959 adults survey in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Off-label use of prescription drugs was associated with adverse drug events in a study of patients in Canada,  according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.

The October 27 issue of JAMA reports a study of federal marketplace insurance plans shows roughly 15 percent completely lacked in-network physicians for at least one specialty, a practice found among multiple states and issuers.

Despite concerns over safety, the FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee voted favorably to approve lesinurad (LES) at a meeting held Friday, October 23, 2015. Overall, panel members felt the potential benefits of LES outweighed the safety concerns reviewed by the FDA presenters.

A recent analysis of randomized clincal trials (RCT) for the treatment of neuropathic pain has shown in increase in placebo responses. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1LL8yAi)

Prescription drugs may cost up to 10 times more in the United States than they do in other countries, according to a 2013 Comparative Price Report was released last month by the International Federation of Health Plans (IFHP).

Lesinurad is a novel URAT-1 inhibitor being developed as a urate-lowering therapy for gout by Astra-Zeneca.

The FDA has denied Pfizer's application seeking an indication for Xeljanz in patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis.

Nearly 2 weeks have passed since the painful launch of ICD-10 in US medical practices.

From 2003 to 2013, the percentage of nonmedical use of prescription opioids decreased among adults in the U.S., while the prevalence of prescription opioid use disorders, frequency of use, and related deaths increased, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.

Healio reported the newly announced grant recipients from the Lupus Foundation of America.

ICD-10 starts tomorrow, October 1st. Your Coding memory will have to increase 5-fold or more as we go from 16,000 to 68,000 new ICD-10 codes. How this will affect each of us remains to be seen. There’s a lot to learn, and many wonder if this will be the next “Y2K”.

RheumNow is committed to reporting safety issues in our monthly Drug Safety Bulletins. Each month we will update you with reports of new, ongoing and resolved Drug Shortages that will affect the practicing rheumatologist.

Biologics have been a great advance in therapeutics, but at great cost. Although biologics account for less than 1% of all prescriptions in the USA, they account for 28% percent of the cost of prescribed medications.

On October 1st, your coding memory will be getting a big and unwelcomed upgrade.

Even if the goverment shuts down, ICD-10 implementation goes forward.

Below are several sources to review what's ahead and what you should be focused on at this point.

Study 329 was published in 2001, and became a pivotal study for the anti-depressant drug Paxil (paroxetine). In 2002, over 2 million prescriptions were written for Paxil.

Biosimilars are rapidly growing. Many of these will have their first introduction to countries outside of the USA. There is concern whether biosimilars will provide identical pharmacodynamics, biological function, efficacy and toxicity to reference products, both in the short and long term.