More Good News About Remdesivir
Read about the biggest pharmaceutical developments and pricing stories from the past week in KHN's Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
New England Journal of Medicine:
Early Remdesivir To Prevent Progression To Severe Covid-19 In Outpatients
Remdesivir improves clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized with moderate-to-severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Whether the use of remdesivir in symptomatic, nonhospitalized patients with Covid-19 who are at high risk for disease progression prevents hospitalization is uncertain. (Gottlieb, M.D., Ph.D., et al, 1/27)
ScienceDaily:
Making RNA Vaccines Easier To Swallow
Researchers developed a way to deliver RNA in a capsule that can be swallowed, which could make RNA vaccines easier to tolerate. It could also make it easier to deliver other kinds of therapeutic RNA or DNA directly to the digestive tract, to help treat gastrointestinal disorders. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1/31)
In other pharmaceutical news —
CBS Miami:
Florida Senate Signs Off On Telehealth Prescription Proposal
The Florida Senate has unanimously passed a measure that would expand doctors’ ability to prescribe certain controlled substances when treating patients through telehealth. Doctors are currently prohibited from prescribing controlled substances when using telehealth, except in the treatment of patients with psychiatric disorders, inpatients at hospitals and patients in hospice care or nursing home facilities. (1/28)
Miami Herald:
Make Sure Prescription Drug Is Right Before Leaving Pharmacy
The increased demand for COVID tests and vaccinations has left many pharmacies understaffed. Because of this, your pharmacist may be working very quickly, and mistakes can happen. In our Miami dermatology practice, we are seeing an increase in the number of prescriptions that have been filled with the wrong medication. (Baumann, M.D., 1/28)
CIDRAP:
New Coalition To Focus On Antibiotic Overuse In Agriculture
US PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) Education Fund today announced the launch of a new coalition dedicated to reducing antibiotic use in agriculture. The Coalition to Preserve Antibiotics includes physicians, farmers, and animal and public health professionals. The group says in it mission statement that while overuse of antibiotics in any setting can promote the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, its focus is on reducing antibiotic use in agriculture because roughly two thirds of the medically important antibiotics sold in the United States are for use in food-producing animals. (1/27)
CIDRAP:
AMR Action Fund Head Aims To Boost Innovation, Funds For New Antibiotics
The news about the antibiotic development in recent years has been, for lack of a better word, rather bleak. Many large pharmaceutical companies have abandoned antibiotic research and development (R&D) because of the poor return on investment. Smaller companies have gone bankrupt after getting a new antibiotic approved, for the very same reason. Multiple analyses have found that the pipeline to replace some of the antibiotics we've relied on for decades has some very good candidates for deadly, multidrug-resistant pathogens, but not enough. And too few of them are truly innovative. (Dall, 1/27)
Nature Medicine:
Polypills For The Prevention Of Cardiovascular Disease: A Framework For Wider Use
Combinations of cardiovascular medications taken in a single pill — known as polypills — are effective but not widely used, requiring a global shift from physicians, regulators and drug developers. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of premature death and disability globally, with disease burden continuing to rise in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)1. Safe and effective preventive treatments for CVDs, such as blood-pressure-lowering drugs, statins and aspirin, have been available for decades. However, most people in LMICs that are at sufficiently increased CVD risk to warrant use of these medications do not receive them2,3. (Patel, et al, 1/31)
