Pharmaceutics

This page contains key pharmaceutical news on drug recalls, FDA clearance, safety communications and research. In cardiology, key pharmaceutic agents include antiplatelet therapies, anticoagulants, hypertension drugs, and drugs for heart failure and arrhythmias.

FDA says years-long tirzepatide shortage is resolved, will give limited leeway to compounders
The tirzepatide shortage that first began in 2022 has been resolved. Drug companies distributing compounded versions of the popular drug now have two to three more months to distribute their remaining supply.
Merck spends up to $2B to license new weight loss drug with potential heart benefits
Merck sent Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, an upfront payment of $112 million to license a new investigational GLP-1 receptor agonist. There could be many more payments to come if certain milestones are met.
Clopidogrel vs. aspirin: Tracking the chronic maintenance period after PCI for different risk groups
As more high-risk patients undergo PCI, what is the best antiplatelet strategy following an initial event-free period of DAPT? Does it change after complex PCI? Researchers aimed to answer these questions, and many others, with new findings published in JAMA Cardiology.
FDA approves new short-term treatment for AFib, atrial flutter in critical care settings
Landiolol, sold by AOP Health under the brand name Rapiblyk, is an intravenous treatment designed to start working right away.
FDA approves acoramidis, BridgeBio’s new ATTR-CM drug
Acoramidis, a selective transthyretin stabilizer being sold under the brand name Attruby, is now the second ATTR-CM medication to gain FDA approval.

Cardiologist kills himself after starting antibiotic, prompting coroner to share concerns

The coroner is concerned that the medication's rare side effects do not receive enough attention when it is prescribed to patients.

June 19, 2023

healthcare value value-based care money dollar

Bitterroot Bio, a new biotech company launched by physicians and industry veterans, raises $145M

The new company formed in 2021, but waited until now to publicly launch. Its founders included two Stanford University physicians.

June 8, 2023

Antithrombotic therapy after TAVR: Comparing warfarin to DAPT, SAPT

A new retrospective study from the Mayo Clinic focused on patients with no other need for anticoagulation.

June 6, 2023

FDA approves sotagliflozin, the new heart failure drug from Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

The drug, which should be available by the end of June, will be marketed under the name Inpefa.

May 30, 2023

FDA grants fast track designation to Bayer’s new drug for preventing stroke in AFib patients

The new drug, asundexian, is currently the subject of two multicenter Phase III studies—the OCEANIC-AF trial and OCEANIC-STROKE trial—focused on its safety and efficacy.

May 16, 2023

FDA expands dapagliflozin approval to cover all heart failure patients

The FDA has previously approved the SGLT2 inhibitor in patients with HFrEF, but not HFmrEF or HFpEF

May 9, 2023

Paul M. Ridker, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, and the Eugene Braunwald Professor of Medicine, cardiovascular medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, who presented the results of late-breaking study on residual inflammatory risk in contemporary statin treated patients. The study used an analyses of 31,197 patients in the PROMINENT, REDUCE-IT and STRENGTH trials.

What new data can teach cardiologists about statin use and treating inflammation

"If we do not attack the inflammation, we just are not going to get the best outcomes for our patients," one researcher told Cardiovascular Business.

May 1, 2023

Marielle Scherrer Crosbie and Tomas Neilan explain the STOP-CA trial and how statins can help prevent cardiotoxicity from anthracycline chemo agents.

Statins may help prevent anthracycline cardiotoxicity in chemotherapy

The STOP-CA trial showed that statins can help chemotherapy patients avoid potential side effects related to anthracycline agents. Co-principal investigators Marielle Scherrer-Crosbie, MD, and Tomas Neilan, MD, discussed the details of that trial at ACC.23.

April 14, 2023

Pharmaceutics

FDA says years-long tirzepatide shortage is resolved, will give limited leeway to compounders

Merck spends up to $2B to license new weight loss drug with potential heart benefits

Clopidogrel vs. aspirin: Tracking the chronic maintenance period after PCI for different risk groups

FDA approves new short-term treatment for AFib, atrial flutter in critical care settings

FDA approves acoramidis, BridgeBio’s new ATTR-CM drug