Pharmacology News

In 2017, a mere 1% of providers were responsible for 49% of all opioid doses and 27% of opioid prescriptions in the United States, according to research published in BMJ.

MAUI, HAWAII — Dermatologists who visit the website for Dupixent may be inclined to believe the monoclonal antibody only treats atopic dermatitis, asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis. Similarly, a glance at Stelara’s website may prompt readers to think it only treats Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

The FDA has approved Dificid tablets and oral suspension for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhea in pediatric patients aged older than 6 months, according to a news release.

MAUI, HAWAII — Experts here at Maui Derm for Dermatologists 2020 discussed significant advances in acne therapies for patients aged 9 years and older.

Default electronic medical record settings for opioid dispense quantities positively influenced prescriptions at ED discharge, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Physicians need to better promote open discussions with patients who express interest in cannabis on their use of edibles, enable counseling on safe consumption, and discourage the use of homemade products, according to a commentary published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Prescription costs of disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis in the Medicaid program nearly tripled from 2011 to 2017, despite the introduction of a generic medication, according to study findings published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The net prices of four biologics — filgrastim, pegfilgrastim, infliximab and insulin glargine — all decreased in the face of competition from biosimilars or other substitutes, even without interchangeability, according to findings published in JAMA Network Open.

Among patients with type 2 diabetes, using SGLT2 inhibitors may lower the risk for gout compared with other antidiabetic medications, according to study findings published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Among patients with ACS who underwent PCI and received an outpatient prescription for ticagrelor or clopidogrel, ticagrelor was not associated with a significant reduction in risk for MACE, and those who received ticagrelor had more major bleeding and dyspnea, according to data from a population-based cohort study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.