Dentists Keep Prescribing Clindamycin Despite ‘Black Box’ Label, C Diff Risk

CIDRAP: Dentists Still Write Millions Of Prescriptions A Year For An Antibiotic With Life-Threatening Risks 
Dentists wrote more than 2.3 million prescriptions last year for an antibiotic called clindamycin, whose label has carried a black box warning for more than four decades, due to its high rate of life-threatening complications. One of those prescriptions was given to Dolores Hernandez Owens. (Szabo, 2/24)

In other pharma and tech updates —

MedPage Today: New Pill Approved For Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder
The FDA approved milsaperidone (Bysanti) tablets as first-line therapy for adults with schizophrenia and manic or mixed episodes related to bipolar I disorder, Vanda Pharmaceuticals announced on Friday. Milsaperidone is an active metabolite of Vanda's existing drug iloperidone (Fanapt) and represents a new chemical entity in the atypical antipsychotic class. In clinical research, milsaperidone was bioequivalent to iloperidone across all therapeutic doses, Vanda said. (Monaco, 2/23)

Stat: Bayer Sues J&J Over 'Misleading Claims' About Prostate Cancer Drug
Underscoring the high-stakes market for prostate cancer medicines, Bayer filed a lawsuit accusing Johnson & Johnson of launching a “false advertising campaign” that uses flawed data to wrongfully promote its rival drug as a more effective treatment. (Silverman, 2/23)

The Hill: Diabetes Drug Mounjaro Linked To Reduced Alcohol Intake: Study
An ingredient in the prescription diabetes drug Mounjaro was found to reduce alcohol intake in rodents, according to a recent study. In the study, published in early January in the medical journal eBioMedicine, researchers in Sweden, South Carolina and Brazil looked at how the ingredient, tirzepatide, affected rodents. The researchers found that alcohol’s “rewarding properties” were lessened by the ingredient and that behaviors including the voluntary consumption of alcohol and binge drinking dropped. (Suter, 2/23)

Stat: Inflammatory Bowel Disease Drug Combos Spark Pharma R&D Race
Finding the right treatment for someone with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis is more of an art than a science. The chronic autoimmune conditions — both considered types of inflammatory bowel disease — cause a myriad of symptoms including ulcers, stomach cramps, fatigue, and diarrhea. (DeAngelis, 2/24)

CNN: Estrogen Patch Shortage As Demand For Menopause Hormone Therapy Grows 
Emily Padgett has spent months trying to get her hands on estrogen patches, bouncing between pharmacies, transferring prescriptions and switching brands three times. For a couple of anxious weeks in January, she had to go without them entirely. (Howard, 2/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Merck Revamps Pharmaceutical Unit, Creating Separate Cancer Business
Merck is shaking up the leadership of its main pharmaceutical unit as the U.S. drugmaker braces for sales pressure later this decade. The Rahway, N.J.-based company said Monday it will split its human-health business into two divisions. One will house its cancer drugs, including the blockbuster Keytruda. The immunotherapy accounts for nearly half of total Merck sales but is due to lose U.S. patent protection in 2028, exposing it to lower-cost copycat competition. (Loftus, 2/23)

MedPage Today: Breakable Mechanical Heart Valves Eyed For Future Intervention
Failed mechanical heart valves could get a new life with device fracture and subsequent valve-in-valve therapy, research suggested. Contemporary mechanical valve leaflets were successfully fractured using standard angioplasty balloons in controlled lab experiments, leaving the intact valve rings unobstructed and available for possible transcatheter heart valve implantation -- which has implications for people with dysfunctional mechanical heart valves, reported Paulina Jankowska, MD, of University Hospital Heart Center Brandenburg in Neuruppin, Germany, and colleagues. (Lou, 2/23)

In global news —

AP: Zimbabwe Is One Of The First To Roll Out New And Long-Acting HIV Drug
Young women, mothers holding babies and some men lined up in a dusty field on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. They came for injections of a new HIV prevention drug launched in the country on Thursday, one that only needs to be administered twice a year. Zimbabwe, where HIV has led to tens of thousands of deaths over the past two decades, is one of the first countries to roll out lenacapavir, a long-acting drug that authorities hope will slow new infections. With clinical studies demonstrating near-total protection, the drug has been described by some health officials as a turning point for high-risk groups. (Mutsaka, 2/22)