PHARMA WISDOM

Thursday 19 November 2015

ALERT: Swine flu rises again....

Swine flu (H1N1 and H3N2v influenza virus)

Introduction:

Swine flu is the popular name for influenza (flu) caused by a relatively new strain of influenza virus A. It was responsible for the flu pandemic in 2009-10.

The virus is officially known as influenza virus A/H1N1pdm09.

The swine flu pandemic:

Swine influenza virus was first isolated from pigs in 1930 in the U.S. and has been recognized by pork producers and veterinarians to cause infections in pigs worldwide.

Unfortunately, this cross-species situation with influenza viruses has had the potential to change. Investigators decided the 2009 so-called "swine flu" strain, first seen in Mexico, should be termed novel H1N1 flu since it was mainly found infecting people and exhibits two main surface antigens, H1 (hemagglutinin type 1) and N1 (neuraminidase type1). The eight RNA strands from novel H1N1 flu have one strand derived from human flu strains, two from avian (bird)strains, and five from swine strains.

The virus was first identified in Mexico in April 2009 and was also known as Mexican flu. It became known as swine flu because the virus closely resembled known influenza viruses that cause illness in pigs.

It spread rapidly from country to country because it was a new type of flu virus that few people were immune to.

Swine flu is transmitted from person to person by inhalation or ingestion of droplets containing virus from people sneezing or coughing; it is not transmitted by eating cooked pork products.

The newest swine flu virus that has caused swine flu is influenza A H3N2v (commonly termed H3N2v) that began as an outbreak in 2011. The "v" in the name means the virus is a variant that normally infects only pigs but has begun to infect humans.

Types of Flu Viruses:

The virus now circulates worldwide as one of three seasonal flu viruses. The other viruses are influenza virus B and influenza virus A/H3N2.

The symptoms of flu caused by the H1N1pdm09 virus are similar to those of other types, and include:

a sudden fever – a temperature of 38C (100.4F) or above
tiredness
aching muscles or joint pain
a headache
a runny or blocked nose

Most people recover within a week, even without special treatment.

if you have flu-like symptoms and are at a higher risk of complications of seasonal flu.

This includes:

children under two years old
anyone over the age of 65
pregnant women
children and adults with an underlying health condition (particularly long-term heart or respiratory disease)
children and adults with weakened immune systems.

Treatment:

Some of the same antiviral drugs that are used to treat seasonal flu also work against H1N1 swine flu. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu), peramivir (Rapivab), and zanamivir (Relenza) seem to work best, although some kinds of swine flu don’t respond to oseltamivir.

These drugs can help you get well faster. They can also make you feel better. They work best when you take them within 48 hours of the first flu symptoms, but they can help even if you get them later on.

Antibiotics won't do anything for you. That’s because flu is caused by a virus, not bacteria.

Over-the-counter pain remedies and cold and flu medications can help relieve aches, pains, and fever.

Swine flu poster released by TS Government 2015...

Besides a flu shot, there are other things you can do to stay healthy:

Wash your hands throughout the day with soap and water. Sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice to make sure you've washed long enough. Or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Avoid people who are sick.

SWINE FLU POSTER RELEASED BY WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION....

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Pharm.D 1st Year REGULAR / SUPPLEMENTARY Examination Previous Question Papers - JNTU HYDERABAD

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DARZALEX (daratumumab) Approved by U.S. FDA

PUBLIC HEALTH

Pharma Wisdom Jobs 19:25:00 0

DARZALEX (daratumumab) Approved by U.S. FDA: First Human Anti-CD38 Monoclonal Antibody Available for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma.

Release date- 16112015 - HORSHAM, PA, - Janssen Biotech, Inc., a Janssen Pharmaceutical Company of Johnson & Johnson, announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved DARZALEX (daratumumab) injection for intravenous infusion for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory agent, or who are double-refractory to a PI and an immunomodulatory agent.1

This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials. Multiple myeloma is an incurable blood cancer that occurs when malignant plasma cells grow uncontrollably in the bone marrow.2,3 Refractory cancer occurs when a patient's disease is resistant to treatment or in the case of multiple myeloma, the disease progresses within 60 days of their last therapy.4,5 Relapsed cancer means the disease has returned after a period of initial, partial or complete remission.6

DARZALEX is the first human anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody (mAb) approved anywhere in the world. CD38 is a surface protein that is expressed by most, if not all, multiple myeloma cells.7 DARZALEX is believed to induce tumor cell death through multiple immune-mediated mechanisms of action,8,9 in addition to apoptosis, in which a series of molecular steps in a cell lead to its death.10 Its approval comes just two months after the Biologics License Application (BLA) was accepted for Priority Review by the FDA in September 2015.11 DARZALEX received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the FDA for this indication in May 2013.12

'Multiple myeloma is a highly complex disease and remains incurable, with almost all patients relapsing or becoming resistant to therapy,' said DARZALEX clinical trial investigator Paul G. Richardson, M.D., Clinical Program Leader and Director of Clinical Research, Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 'With DARZALEX, we have a promising new immunotherapy, which has shown pronounced efficacy as a single agent with an acceptable adverse event profile. This is especially important for treating these heavily pre-treated patients in whom all of the major classes of currently available medicines have failed.'

'Living with multiple myeloma is challenging, both physically and emotionally, especially as the disease progresses and treatment options become more limited,' said Debby Graff, a patient enrolled in a clinical trial at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 'I am encouraged by emerging treatments for multiple myeloma, and I have a new outlook on my path forward.'

'While there have been considerable improvements over the past decade in the treatment of people living with multiple myeloma, these patients face a long, hard road - especially those whose disease has relapsed or is no longer responding to current therapies,' said Walter M. Capone, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF). 'With the approval of daratumumab, a new antibody option targeting CD38, along with ongoing work to advance the development of novel classes of therapies by both Janssen and MMRF, we are ushering in a new era of myeloma therapy focused on individualized treatment approaches for patients with significant unmet needs.'

'Our focus is developing transformational medicines for people living with hard-to-treat cancers, such as multiple myeloma,' said Peter F. Lebowitz, M.D., Ph.D., Global Oncology Head, Janssen. 'The rapid development and approval of DARZALEX - the first human anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody - is a great example of this commitment and our ongoing work in developing immunotherapies. We will continue to study this compound as both a mono- and a combination therapy to understand its full clinical benefit for patients across the treatment continuum in multiple myeloma and other tumor types.'

The warnings and precautions for DARZALEX include infusion reactions, interference with serological testing and interference with determination of complete response (see Important Safety Information).1 The most frequently reported adverse reactions (incidence =20%) were: fatigue, nausea, back pain, pyrexia, cough and upper respiratory tract infection.1

In data from three pooled clinical studies including a total of 156 patients, four percent of patients discontinued treatment due to adverse reactions.1 Infusion reactions were reported in approximately half of all patients treated with DARZALEX.1 Common (=5 percent) symptoms of infusion reactions included nasal congestion, chills, cough, allergic rhinitis, throat irritation, dyspnea (shortness of breath) and nausea.1 Severe infusion reactions, including bronchospasm, dyspnea, hypoxia and hypertension.

Source: http://www.pharmacychoice.com

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Drug promises robust new hair growth

PUBLIC HEALTH

Pharma Wisdom Jobs 19:10:00 0

A new method of restoring hair growth - using drugs that are already approved for safety - may be on the way, according to research published in Science Advances.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York have found that when hair follicles are suspended in a resting state, rapid and robust growth can be restored by inhibiting a family of enzymes inside the follicles.

Hair follicles do not produce hair constantly but rather cycle between four resting and growing phases.

More than 90% of the hair is normally in the growing phase, "anagen," which can last from 2-6 years.

The relatively short catagen phase follows, when the follicle regresses and moves toward the surface. "Telogen" is the resting phase, and "exogen" is when the hair falls out before the follicle resumes growth.

Generally, the longer the hair, the longer the phases are; long hair tends to grow more slowly.

Enzyme inhibitors promote growth:
In experiments with normal mouse and human hair follicles, Dr. Angela Christiano, PhD, and colleagues found that drugs that inhibit the Janus kinase (JAK) family of enzymes promote rapid and robust hair growth when directly applied to the skin.

Fast facts about male baldness

95% of male baldness is due to androgenetic alopecia
By age 35, 2 in 3 men in the US will have noticeable hair loss
In 25% of men, hair loss begins before age 21.

This suggests that JAK inhibitors could be used to restore hair growth in various forms of hair loss, such as that induced by male pattern baldness - also called androgenetic alopecia - and other types of hair loss that occur when hair follicles are trapped in a resting state.

Two JAK inhibitors have already been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), one for treatment of blood diseases (ruxolitinib) and the other for rheumatoid arthritis (tofacitinib).

Both are being tested in clinical trials for the treatment of plaquepsoriasis and alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that attacks the follicles, causing hair loss.

It was while studying alopecia areata that the researchers chanced upon the effect of JAK inhibitors on hair follicles.

They had already found that JAK inhibitors shut off the signal that causes the autoimmune attack, and that oral forms of the drug restore hair growth in some people with the disorder.

Source:medicalnewstoday.com

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67th INDIAN PHARMACEUTICAL CONGRESS

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Pharma Wisdom Jobs 23:11:00 1

67th INDIAN PHARMACEUTICAL CONGRESS

19-21 December, 2015

ONLINE SUBMISSION DATES

Start Date	:	01-08-2015
Last Date	:	10-10-2015

ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACCEPTANCE

31 OCTOBER 2015

CONFERENCE HOST

Indian Hospital Pharmacist Association(IHPA)

| Venue
JSS University, Mysore

| Event Website
www.ipcmys.com

Conference Highlights

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Thursday 19 November 2015