Canadian Pharmacy Blog

When is the best time to give clopido-grel bisulfate to patients needing diagnostic coronary angiography—immediately after unscheduled coronary stenting or before? Researchers from Hungary and Vienna say that starting treatment with clopidogrel (Plavix generic, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi-Aventis) before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has several benefits.
The researchers compared 30-day outcomes in 2,679 patients with suspected coronary artery [...]

In one of the few head-to-head comparisons of the three beta-blockers most commonly prescribed after acute myo-cardial infarction (AMI), atenolol (Tenormin generic, AstraZeneca) and acebutolol (Sectral, ESP Pharma) reduced mortality rates better than metoprolol succi-nate (Toprol generic, AstraZeneca), say researchers in Canada. Their findings, they say, challenge the concept of a class effect after an [...]

It came as a bit of a surprise, but tiagabine (Gabitril, Cephalon) was found to be superior to gabapentin (Neurontin, Pfizer) in reducing cocaine use among cocaine-dependent patients who were taking methadone.
Researchers at Yale University and the University of Arkansas in Little Rock randomly assigned 76 cocaine-dependent men to receive tiagabine 24 mg/day, gabapentin 2,400 [...]

The FDA has alerted prescribers of new safety concerns about linezolid (Zyvox generic, Pfizer).
A recent open-label, randomized trial compared linezolid with vancomycin (Vancocin, Viro Pharma), oxacillin (Bactocill, SmithKlineBeecham; Prostaphlin, Apothecon), or dicloxacillin (Dycill, GlaxoSmithKline; Dynapen, Apothecon) in seriously ill patients with intravascular catheter-related bloodstream and catheter-site infections. Patients receiving linezolid had a higher chance of [...]

The FDA has approved four enhancements for Wyeth’s BeneFIX Coagulation Factor IX (Recombinant): a 2,000 IU vial, a needle-less reconstitution device, a pre-filled syringe, and a reduced volume of diluent.
The R2 Kit is easier to prepare than the original BeneFIX kit. BeneFIX replaces clotting factor IX to stop or prevent bleeding in people with hemophilia [...]

Conivaptan HCl injection (Vaprisol, Astellas Pharma US) has been approved for the intravenous treatment of hyper-volemic hyponatremia in hospitalized patients. The drug was originally approved for euvolemic hyponatremia in December 2005.
This arginine vasopressin receptor antagonist is the first drug indicated specifically for the treatment of both euvolemic and hypervolemic hypo-natremia. These potentially life-threatening conditions occur [...]

The U.S. has become the first country to approve aliskiren (Tekturna, Novartis) tablets, a new type of blood pressure medication in more than a decade. Aliskiren, also known as Rasilez, is awaiting approval in Europe.
Aliskiren is a direct renin inhibitor. As a once-daily oral therapy, it targets renin, an enzyme responsible for triggering a process [...]