Therapeutics News

Over the course of a decade, 54% of drugs and biologics in late-stage trials failed due to poor efficacy or safety concerns, according to findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Nicox S.A. announced that it received a Complete Response Letter from the FDA regarding the New Drug Application for AC-170 as a result of an inspection at a third-party facility that produces the active pharmaceutical agent, cetirizine, and supplies it to the manufacturer of the finished product.

The fixed combination of brinzolamide-brimonidine significantly lowers intraocular pressure in primary open-angle glaucoma and is especially useful for patients with comorbidities, according to researchers in the European Journal of Ophthalmology.

LAS VEGAS – “If blepharitis isn’t something you’re looking for, you really need to,” Scott Schachter, OD, said. Of 100 consecutive patients he tested in his practice, 28 were positive for Demodex blepharitis. The #1 sign of blepharitis is conjunctival injection, “and we don’t want our patients walking around with red eyes when we can take care of that,” he said.

Between 2006 and 2012, overall rates of antibiotic use in hospitalized patients did not change significantly, according to data published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

LAS VEGAS – Eric Schmidt, OD, cautions practitioners about substituting branded medications for generics. “There truly is a difference when you’re talking about drugs for glaucoma and steroids,” he said. “There are many reasons to push for the branded: the biggest one is the side effect differences are so great in the generic compared to the branded. Side effects are three times higher for glaucoma generics than branded.”

Delivering drugs slowly to the eye has many benefits, including increased compliance, doctor control of the type of drug used and avoidance of pressure spikes in the case of steroid delivery. The ocular surface, however, may benefit most from a sustained delivery approach.

Latanoprostene bunod yielded a greater IOP reduction and a larger increase in ocular perfusion pressure than timolol 0.5% during the nocturnal period in patients with ocular hypertension or early primary open-angle glaucoma, according to researchers in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

The high cost of prescription drugs in the United States is the result of drug manufacturers being granted government-protected monopolies, according to data published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

In the Medicare Part D program, more than one million health care providers prescribed nearly $121 billion in prescription drugs in 2014, according to data released by CMS.