Category Archives: Pharmacology

Injectable Cabotegravir Holds Promise as HIV Prevention Stategy

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Martin Markowitz MD Clinical Director and Staff Investigator Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center Aaron Diamond Professor at The Rockefeller University

Dr. Markowitz

Martin Markowitz MD
Clinical Director and Staff Investigator
Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center
Aaron Diamond Professor at The Rockefeller University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Cabotegravir ((CAB) is an inhibitor of HIV-1 integrase and is amenable to formulation in both oral and long acting injectable forms. In preclinical studies injectable CAB protected against low dose intrarectal challenge using an HIV-like virus in the rhesus macaque model.

These results support the clinical development of CAB as prevention. This study was a first attempt to establish a dosing regimen and evaluate safety and acceptability of intramuscular injections of CAB. The study was a placebo controlled blinded study of approximately 120 subjects with a 5:1 randomization active/placebo. Subjects received 800mg CAB given as 2 2mL injections or placebo every 12 weeks for 3 injections after a 4 week safety lead in of oral therapy. Safety acceptability and PK were assessed.

The main findings were that injections were associated with injection site reactions in the vast majority of participants that were mild to moderate and of short duration. Only 4 subjects who entered the injection phase discontinued due to injection intolerance. There were no additional safety signals and the participants considered the injections acceptable when asked to complete questionnaires. PK analysis found that despite modeling that suggested that the 800mg q 12 week dose would be adequate, this was not the case. More rapid uptake and release from the depot resulted in lower than anticipated drug levels at trough. Alternate dosing regimens are under study.

Another finding is that there were participants (14%) who had detectable drug in plasma detected at 52 weeks after last injection suggesting the presence of a tail in some individuals.

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All NSAIDS Raise Risk of Heart Attack, Even When Taken For Short Period of Time

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Michèle Bally, BPharm, MSc, PhD
Epidemiologist, Department of Pharmacy, CHUM
Researcher, Health Innovation and Evaluation Hub, CRCHUM

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The objective of this study was to better understand the risk of heart attack associated with using oral prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs (ibuprofen, diclofenac, celecoxib, and naproxen) the way people usually do to treat pain and inflammation in real life circumstances.

In clinical trials, NSAIDs were typically taken on a continuous basis in high standardized doses, as assigned by the trial protocol. However, the dosages and the treatment durations studied in trials may not represent the reality of many patients who use NSAIDs in low or varying doses, use these drugs on and off, or switch between NSAID medications.

We were particularly interested in determining the onset of the risk, that is how soon does the risk of heart attack start increasing? Also, we wanted to investigate the effect of dose and duration of treatment. To do this, we studied the use of a low or high dose level of NSAIDs over certain set periods of time, including taking these medications only for 1 to 7 days.

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Restrictions on Pharmaceutical Detailing Linked To Increase in Generic Drug Prescription

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Ian Larkin, PhD</strong> Assistant Professor of Strategy UCLA Anderson School of Management

Dr. Ian Larkin

Ian Larkin, PhD
Assistant Professor of Strategy
UCLA Anderson School of Management

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The study examined whether restrictions put in by medical centers on salesperson visits to physicians, known as “detailing,” affected subsequent physician prescribing behavior. Detailing represents the most prominent form of pharmaceutical marketing. Detailing visits allow the sharing of scientific information, but they also often involve small gifts for physicians and their staff, such as meals.

Pharmaceutical companies incur far greater expenditures on detailing visits than they do on direct-to-consumer marketing, or even on research and development of new drugs. Specifically, the study examined detailing restrictions put into place by 19 academic medical centers (AMCs) in five states in the U.S. It compared changes in prescribing by thousands of AMC physicians whose practices limited typical elements of detailing visits, such as provisions of meals and educational gifts, to a carefully matched control group of similar physicians practicing in the same geographic regions but not subject to such detailing restrictions.

The study, which included more than 25,000 physicians and all 262 drugs in eight major drug classes — from statins to sleep aids to antidepressants, representing more than $60 billion in aggregate sales in the United States — was, to date, by far the most comprehensive to examine the impact of detailing restrictions. The comprehensive and quasi-experimental methodology, which compared prescribing behavior before and after implementation of policies, and which included a large matched control group of physicians not subject to policy changes, was an important innovation relative to prior research. The study used prescription data from CVS Caremark, one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the United States.

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Statins Users May Have Higher Likelihood of Back Disorders

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Una Makris MD, MSc Clinical Investigator at the VA North Texas Health System Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center Departments on Internal Medicine and Clinical Sciences

Dr. Makris

Una Makris MD, MSc
Clinical Investigator at the VA North Texas Health System
VA North Texas Health Care System
Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center
Departments on Internal Medicine and Clinical Sciences
Dr. Makris is a Rheumatologist, clinically, and spends the majority of time focused on clinical research investigating how to improve outcomes for adults with back pain.

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Back pain is the most common type of musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. We know that expenditures for back pain exceed $100 billion each year (and this was in 2005). Back pain results in tremendous disability (including reduced mobility) and impaired quality of life (not exclusive to physical consequences, but also including important psychosocial repercussions). We also know that statins are prescribed very often, and frequently in younger populations who are active. Some reports suggest that statins may have a protective effect on  musculoskeletal conditions such as back pain.

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Animal Study Suggests Lorcaserin (Belviq®) May be Useful to Reduce Opioid Intake

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Christina R. Merritt and Kathryn A. Cunningham
Center for Addiction Research
University of Texas Medical Branch
Galveston, TX 77555

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is one of the top public health problems in the United States. Overdoses on prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl accounted for 33,091 deaths in the U.S. in 2015 (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm655051e1.htm); each day, 91 Americans die from an opioid overdose (https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/). The first-ever Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs and Health (https://addiction.surgeongeneral.gov/ ) observed that more people used prescription opioids than tobacco in 2015. Furthermore, individuals with OUD, the most problematic pattern of opioid abuse, often relapse, particularly in environments associated with past drug use, and new means to help maintain abstinence are needed.

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) function in the brain, particularly through its cognate 5-HT2C receptor, is an important regulator of the abuse liability of cocaine and other psychostimulants. Previous studies suggested that the weight loss medication and selective 5-HT2C receptor agonist lorcaserin (Belviq®) can curb cocaine- and nicotine-seeking in preclinical models, even when tested in tempting environments. We administered lorcaserin to rats who were trained to take the powerful painkiller oxycodone (OxyContin®), a prescription opioid currently approved for treatment of acute and chronic pain with characteristically high abuse potential. Lorcaserin suppressed oxycodone intake as well as the drug-seeking behaviors observed when rats were exposed to cues such as the lights and sounds previously associated with drug intake. Taken together, these findings highlights the therapeutic potential for lorcaserin to extend abstinence and enhance recovery from OUD.

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Thyroid Hormone Medication Should Not Be Taken With Cow’s Milk

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Deborah Chon MD
Endocrinology fellow
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Our study shows that drinking cow’s milk concurrently with oral levothyroxine significantly reduces the absorption of the medication.

Levothyroxine is used for the physiologic replacement of thyroid hormone in patients with hypothyroidism and for serum TSH suppression in patients with thyroid cancer. It is the mostly commonly prescribed medication in the United States as of 2014. Frequent dose adjustments of levothyroxine have been shown to be a costly burden to the national healthcare system.

Previous studies have shown that certain foods and medication, such as calcium supplements, can interfere with levothyroxine absorption. However, this is the first study to demonstrate that ingesting cow?s milk, a common breakfast staple, affects oral levothyroxine absorption.

To determine the possible effect of cow’s milk ingestion, we measured levothyroxine absorption in humans with and without concurrent milk consumption. Pharmacokinetic studies were conducted in healthy adults without allergies to milk or levothyroxine, and who were not pregnant nor using oral contraceptives. All subjects had no history of known thyroid disease and normal thyroid hormone function at baseline. Following an overnight fast, serum total thyroxine T4 (TT4) concentrations were measured at baseline and at 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours after ingestion of 1,000 ?g of oral levothyroxine alone or when co-administered with 12 oz. of milk (2% fat). There was a four-week washout period between the two study visits.

Ten subjects (mean age 33.7?10.2 years, 60% male) completed the study. The serum total T4 absorption over six hours, calculated as area under the curve (AUC), was significantly lower when taking cow?s milk concurrently with levothyroxine compared levothyroxine alone (mean?SD: 67.26?12.13 vs. 73.48?16.96; p = 0.02). Also, peak serum TT4 concentrations were significantly lower in those who ingested levothyroxine concurrently with milk, compared to taking levothyroxine alone (p=0.04).
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NSAIDS Diclofenac and Ibuprofen Associated with Increased Risk of Cardiac Arrest

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Kathrine Bach Søndergaard MD, Research Fellow Gentofte University Hospital Department of Cardiology Hellerup

Dr. Søndergaard

Kathrine Bach Søndergaard MD, Research Fellow
Gentofte University Hospital
Department of Cardiology
Hellerup 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used and have in previous studies been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular adverse events, such as myocardial infarction and heart failure. Cardiac arrest is the ultimate adverse event; however, no research exists of the association between cardiac arrest and use of NSAIDs, which we aimed to assess in this study.

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Psoriasis: Efficacy and Safety of Guselkumab vs Humira for Moderate to Severe Disease

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Andrew Blauvelt, M.D., M.B.A. President and Investigator Oregon Medical Research Center

Dr. Blauvelt

Andrew Blauvelt, M.D., M.B.A.
President and Investigator
Oregon Medical Research Center

 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Findings from the Phase 3 VOYAGE 1 study showed that patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis receiving guselkumab, an human anti-interleukin (IL)-23 monoclonal antibody, achieved significant improvement in skin clearance and in comparison with Humira® (adalimumab), a TNF blocker.  The Phase 3 study and head-to-head analysis of guselkumab vs. adalimumab showed the significant and durable efficacy of guselkumab as maintained through one year when compared with adalimumab, and the robust efficacy of this novel IL-23 targeted therapy in meeting all primary and major secondary endpoints.

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Regional Variation in Chemotherapy Prescriptions For Metastatic Prostate Cancer

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Megan Elizabeth Veresh Caram MD Clinical Lecturer Internal Medicine, Hematology & Oncology University of Michigan

Dr. Caram

Megan Elizabeth Veresh Caram MD
Clinical Lecturer
Internal Medicine, Hematology & Oncology
University of Michigan

 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Abiraterone and enzalutamide are oral medications that were approved by the Food & Drug Administration in 2011 and 2012 to treat men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Most men with advanced prostate cancer are over age 65 and thus eligible for Medicare Part D. We conducted a study to better understand the early dissemination of these drugs across the United States using national Medicare Part D and Dartmouth Atlas data.

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Flu Treatment With Neuraminidase Inhibitors During Pregnancy Not Linked To Birth Defects

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Sophie Graner Department of Women's and Childrens Health Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

Dr. Graner

Dr. Sophie Graner
Department of Women’s and Childrens Health
Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Pregnant women are at increased risks of severe disease and death due to influensa infection, as well as hospitalization. Also influenza and fever increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes for their infants such as intrauterine death and preterm birth. Due to this, the regulatory agencies in Europe and the US recommended post exposure prophylaxis and treatment for pregnant women with neuraminidase inhibitors during the last influenza pandemic 2009-10. Despite the recommendations, the knowledge on the effect of neuraminidase inhibitors on the infant has been limited. Previously published studies have not shown any increased risk, but they have had limited power to assess specific neonatal outcomes such as stillbirth, neonatal mortality, preterm birth, low Agar score, neonatal morbidity and congenital malformations.
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mGlu2 receptor Agonist ADX71149 Plus Levetiracetam May Reduce Seizures With Fewer Side Effects

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Robert Lutjens, PhD Head of Discovery at Addex Therapeutics Geneva, Switzerland

Dr. Lutjens

Robert Lutjens, PhD
Head of Discovery at Addex Therapeutics
Geneva, Switzerland

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Metabotropic glutamate receptors represent an attractive therapeutic target for various neurologic conditions. In particular, the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 2 (mGlu2) can affect excitatory synaptic transmission by decreasing glutamate release. As excess gluatamate is observed in epilepsy, targeting mGlu2 could lead to new avenues of therapy. Positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of mGlu2 could be valuable candidate drugs as they do not directly activate receptors. Therefore, they may avoid tachyphylaxis and side effects emerging from direct receptor agonism. 

The publication summarizes the effects obtained when the mGlu2 receptor is activated using an agonist or PAM, such as ADX71149, in the 6Hz psychomotor seizure test, considered to be the most relevant model of pharmacoresistant limbic seizures. The data show that while seizures are reduced when mGlu2-acting compounds are administered alone, their combination with the antiseizure drug levetiracetam (LEV) result in a potent reduction of doses required to produce full efficacy, which is important because higher doses of LEV are associated with dose-limiting side effects, such as aggression, nervousness/anxiety, somnolence and fatigue. In this study, a fixed dose of ADX71149 was seen to increase the potency of LEV, leading to an approximate 35-fold increase in its potency. Conversely, using a fixed dose of LEV with varying doses of ADX71149 resulted in an approximate 14-fold increase in ADX71149 potency.

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Guselkumab Potentially Increases Treatment Choices For Psoriasis

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Prof. Dr. med. Kristian Reich Dermatologie, Allergologie Psoriasis- und Neurodermitis-Trainer Hamburg

Prof.  Kristian Reich

Prof. Dr. med. Kristian Reich
Dermatologie, Allergologie
Psoriasis- und Neurodermitis-Trainer
Hamburg

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Ustekinumab is an antibody against the p40 molecule shared by IL-12 and IL-23. The antibody shows a favorable benfit-risk profile in the treatment of psoriasis. IL-23 is regarded a key driver in psoriasis pathology. It is speculated that antibodies against the IL-23-specific subunit p19 may produce even higher levels of clinical response than ustekinumab or the anti-TNF antagonist adalimumab. Guselkumab is the first IL-23p19 antibody to publish phase III data in psoriasis.   
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