First PCSK9 inhibitors approved in Europe and United States The US Food and Drug Administration has approved alirocumab (Praluent), days after evolocumab (Repatha) became the first PCSK9 inhibitor to be approved in the world.…
More people should be taking statins for primary prevention, US study suggests US guidelines that set the threshold for starting statin therapy at a lower level than the threshold recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in England are cost effective, say researchers.…
Clinical Pharmacist’s monthly news round-up: the top 10 in the past month What has been happening in the world of pharmacy? Here’s our pick of must-read news from the past month.…
Researchers suggest indefinite anticoagulation for patients with unprovoked pulmonary embolism Research into the benefits of warfarin for patients who have suffered a blockage in a lung artery suggest that the anticoagulant should be administered indefinitely.…
Study finds favour in self-monitoring for patients on oral anticoagulants People using oral blood thinning therapy such as warfarin can successfully monitor and manage their own international normalised ratio (INR) using commercially available devices, research shows.…
Statins increase aggression in postmenopausal women Statins could reduce aggression in men but increase aggression in postmenopausal women, according to research at the University of California, San Diego.…
Studies linking statins and memory loss may be flawed Researchers suggest that detection bias may be the reason why statins have been associated with memory impairment.…
England’s top doctor orders review into how medicines are evaluated The chief medical officer for England has ordered an independent review into the efficacy and safety of medicines to address a growing perception that doctors and scientists are “untrustworthy”.…
PCSK9 inhibitor evolocumab gets green light for European approval The first monoclonal antibody for treating high cholesterol and the first PCSK9 inhibitor is set to launch following a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency.…
The pros and cons of rat poison as medicine Originally developed as a rat poison, warfarin has been used as an anticoagulant for over 60 years. But why is it so popular when alternatives are available?…