June 2012 Drug Information Update - Pharmacy Benefits ...

studies is whether or not the improved "progression-free" survival time will translate to a longer
overall survival.
Article link: http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=664580
Source website: http://consumer.healthday.com/
Pfizer’s Arthritis Pill Backed by U.S. FDA Advisory Panel
May 9, 2012
Pfizer Inc.’s experimental pill to treat rheumatoid arthritis, one of the drugmaker’s leading
therapy candidates, should be approved by U.S. regulators, an advisory panel said. Pfizer, the
world’s largest drugmaker, is seeking to sell the pill, tofacitinib, for patients who don’t respond
to other rheumatoid arthritis treatments. A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug
Administration recommended in an 8-2 vote today in Silver Spring, Maryland, that the agency
clear the drug for sale. The FDA isn’t required to follow the panel’s advice.
Article link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-09/pfizer-s-arthritis-pill-backed-by-u-sfdaadvisory-panel.html
Source website: http://www.bloomberg.com/
Bone Drugs May Not Help Women Long Term, FDA Review Says
May 10, 2012
Bone-strengthening drugs such as Merck & Co’s Fosamax, used to treat and prevent osteoporosis
in older women, may have little long-term benefit, U.S. regulators said in an analysis of
previously released studies. Research from the Food and Drug Administration, published
yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine, renews a debate about whether use of the
drugs after more than three to five years provides any protection against the risk of bone
fractures. The agency has been evaluating the safety of the treatments since 2007 and last
September an advisory panel suggested changes to the medicines’ labels to show the
effectiveness may wear off over time.
Article link: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-10/bone-drugs-may-not-helpwomen-longterm-fda-review-says
Source website: http://www.businessweek.com/
Arena obesity pill wins over U.S. advisers
May 10, 2012
An experimental obesity pill from Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc won the support of U.S. advisers
on Thursday, as public health advocates push for new solutions to the nation's growing obesity
epidemic. A panel of outside experts to the Food and Drug Administration voted 18 to 4 to
recommend approval of lorcaserin, bringing the drug a step closer to U.S. approval as one of the
first new weight-loss treatments in over a decade.
Article link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/11/us-fda-arena-idUSBRE8491I120120511
Source website: http://www.reuters.com/
FDA panel backs Gilead's Truvada to prevent HIV
May 10, 2012
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts recommended Gilead Sciences
Inc's Truvada as a treatment for preventing HIV infection among people at risk for contracting
AIDS, including homosexual and bisexual men. In a move that could lead to a new milestone
for treatment in the evolution of the worldwide AIDS epidemic, the FDA advisory committee
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