Drug Topics - November 12, 2007 - (Page 8)

8 DRUG TOPICS NOVEMBER 12, 2007 www.drugtopics.com Of Interest to Pharmacists bronchitis, sinusitis, and other common infections. Physicians too often find it easier to prescribe than to educate about the futility of using antibiotics against viruses and the growing calamity of drug resistance, he added. There is also a lack of new antimicrobials. Some of the most recently approved agents are already losing efficacy due to resistance. Linezolid was widely overused after approval in 2000 and is not widely effective, Kintanar said. Cefditoren pivoxil (Spectracef, Cornerstone), like other third-generation cephalosporins, is only occasionally useful. Ertapenem (Invanz, Merck), the newest carbapenem, is notable only for its once-daily dosing. Cefepime (Maxipime, Bristol-Myers Squibb), a fourthgeneration cephalosporin, is used almost exclusively in the hospital setting. Daptomycin (Cubicin, Cubist), the first cyclic lipopeptide antimicrobial, is still widely effective, Kintanar said. But it is infused over 30 minutes and is seldom used in the community. “There are more products in the pipeline, but nothing that is near approval,” he noted. “Daptomycin is probably the last line of defense we have right now.” DT Despite our controls, U.S. still susceptible to counterfeiting, warns expert Judy Chi o hear Roger Williams, M.D., CEO of the United States Pharmacopeia, tell it, the safety net protecting the quality of our medications and dietary supplements is weak. The United States is equally susceptible to contaminated drug outbreaks, such as the recent diethylene glycol poisoning that struck Haiti, as developing countries are. T Williams should know—USP is the standard-setting organization, responsible for preparing monographs on prescription drugs in this country. Williams said that while the nation’s Food & Drug Administration has a staff of 10,000 as compared with only 40 for another major country, counterfeit drugs can still slip through domestically because 80% of our drug substances now USP leader Roger Williams (second from r.) was the speaker at the recent Schuss lecture at Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences. He is shown here with dean Stephen Gross (l.); assistant dean Lorraine Cicero (r.); Eric Schuss, chair of Bellco Health (next to Williams); and three students who won scholarship awards. Photo: Judy Chi http://www.drugtopics.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Drug Topics - November 12, 2007

Drug Topics - November 12, 2007 Contents Drugs Often Associated with Errors Wanted: More Convers to Drug Decision Tools MSRA Takeoff Raising Alarm Bells U.S. Still Volnerable to Drug Counterfeiting Strange Rx Stories: Are You Stupid? Are Students a Squandered Opportunity The Week at a Glance

Drug Topics - November 12, 2007

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