Few Alzheimer’s Patients Take Costly Drug As Benefits Questions Linger
Analysts suggest less than 100 people have received the new drug, Aduhelm, since it was approved by federal regulators in June. Hospital and insurer committees are reviewing the use of Aduhelm, but the lingering questions about its effectiveness are slowing delivery. Meanwhile, in Europe, the blockbuster drug Humira's growth is being challenged by biosimilar products but those aren't allowed here yet.
Stat:
Alzheimer’s Patients Are In Limbo As Hospitals, Insurers Weigh Aduhelm
For all the explosive controversy over the approval of the first treatment for Alzheimer’s disease in nearly 20 years, hardly any patients have actually gotten it yet. The drug’s eye-popping, $56,000 annual price and questionable benefit to patients have been a shock to the bureaucracy that makes the health care system run — and that’s having a clear effect on uptake. (Joseph and Cohrs, 8/4)
Axios:
AbbVie Continues To Grow U.S. Sales Of Humira
Sales of Abbvie's blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Humira have declined internationally, as cheaper copycats known as biosimilars gain more traction in Europe. But Humira sales continued to rise in the U.S. last quarter because Humira biosimilars are locked out of the country until 2023. Cheaper versions of Humira exist, but Americans don't have access to them due entirely to AbbVie's "legal strategy" of delaying entry. (Herman, 8/4)
Stat:
FDA Warns Importer After Drug Ingredients Found Stored Near Weed Killer
What do weed killer, engine antifreeze coolant, dry wall repair products, and active pharmaceutical ingredients have in common? They were all stored in the same room at Syntec Pharma, which imports active ingredients and up until recently, was also repackaging them. Not only that, the company also comingled personal food items and some “unidentified” products in unlabeled aluminum bags in a refrigerator used to store – yes, you guessed correctly – active ingredients and chemicals. (Silverman, 8/3)
CIDRAP:
Study Examines Ways To Cut Antibiotics In Terminal Cancer Patients
A single-center study of terminal cancer patients found a high rate of antibiotic use within the last 30 days of life, with significantly lower use among those who asked for limited antimicrobial treatment, researchers reported yesterday in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Despite uncertain benefits and the risk of adverse events and antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial use in patients with terminal cancer is frequently continued after transition to comfort care and discontinued less than 1 day prior to death. To determine whether completing a Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form and an accompanying antimicrobial preferences document had any relationship with antimicrobial use at the end of life, researchers from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center conducted a retrospective study of patients who died at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance from Jan 1, 2016, through Jun 30, 2019. (8/3)
CIDRAP:
Stewardship Steps Tied To Less Antibiotic Use In COVID-19 Patients
A retrospective study of patients in Kentucky suggests antibiotic stewardship interventions may safely cut antibiotic use in COVID-19 patients, researchers reported yesterday in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. Among 173 patients who received antibiotics for COVID-19 from June through July 2020 at a community healthcare system in Louisville, 91 (52.6%) met criteria for early discontinuation of antibiotics, and 82 patients (47.7%) were in the late-discontinuation group. The decision to discontinue antibiotics in COVID-19 patients without bacterial co-infection was made by trained clinical pharmacists who were part of the hospital's antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) team. (8/3)
