Canadian Pharmacy Blog

Not all beta blockers have the same effect on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with diabetes. The Glycemic Effects in Diabetes Mellitus Carvedilol-Metoprolol Comparison in Hypertensives (GEMINI) trial found that, in the presence of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angio-tensin-receptor blocker (ARB), the beta blocker carvedilol (e.g., Coreg medication, Glaxo-SmithKline) preserved glycemic control, [...]

Final approval has been granted for CIP-Fenofibrate (Lipofen, Cipher Pharmaceuticals), a novel formulation of the active ingredient fenofibrate, which is used in the treatment of hyperlipidemia.
Three dosages were approved: 50, 100 and 150 mg. The 150-mg strength is equivalent to Abbott’s Tricor 160 mg (under fed, not fasting, conditions). The new agent’s absorption is increased [...]

The first generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Generic Pravachol (Pravastatin Sodium Tablets) has been approved.
Pravastatin medication is indicated for the treatment of patients with high cholesterol levels or who are at increased risk for atherosclerosis-related cardiac and cardiovascular events (e.g., heart attack and stroke). Bristol-Myers Squibb’s patent for the drug expired on April 20, 2006.
Pravastatin [...]

It’s not uncommon for patients who take warfarin generic to be taking other drugs— or for those drugs to have a significant potential for interaction.
Researchers from Kaiser Permanente and Northwest Permanente in Portland, Oregon, and from Harvard University in Boston evaluated the effectiveness of electronic medical record alerts. In one retrospective review, they found 65% [...]

Clopidogrel bisulfate (Plavix, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi-Aventis) has been approved for patients who have had a type of heart attack called acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and who are not scheduled for angioplasty (coronary artery repair).
A STEMI is a severe heart attack caused by the sudden, total blockage of an artery. The drug prevents subsequent blockage [...]

The product label for generic ezetimibe/ medication simvastatin (Vytorin drug, Merck/Schering-Plough) may now show that it was more effective than generic rosuvastatin calcium (Crestor, AstraZeneca) in lowering low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels at all doses that were compared. In a study of 2,959 patients, high cholesterol levels were reduced by 52% to 61% with Vytorin 10/20 to [...]

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its subsidiary Pliva d.d. have announced that Pliva has received final approval from the FDA for its ANDA to manufacture and market Pravastatin tablets in dosages of 10 mg, 20 mg, and 40 mg. The tablets are the generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Pravachol tablets. Pliva has also received tentative ap­proval [...]