October 14, 2020

First Responders, Front-Line Healthcare Workers Will Get COVID-19 Vaccine First

Who is first in line to receive a COVID-19 vaccine once products are approved? A new document provides a framework of special concern to pharmacists, since they will be among the primary groups administering the vaccines. Find out the recommended order of vaccination and the rationale a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine committee used to develop them. 

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Transplant Patients on Hydroxychloroquine Face Higher Mortality From COVID-19

Because of its immunomodulatory action, the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine is sometimes used to treat patients who have received organ transplants. A new study suggests that those patients taking the drug have increased mortality risks if they contract COVID-19, however. Find out the results of the case-control study examining whether patients receiving solid organ transplants are at higher risk of severe outcomes from novel coronavirus infection and why. 

Trials for Biosimilars Found to Be as Rigorous as for Reference Products

Just 10 years ago, an abbreviated pathway was established for approval of biosimilar biologic products in the United States. What does that mean for how extensively biosimilars are tested before FDA approval? Find out why a new study came to the conclusion that comparative efficacy trials for biosimilars are generally as rigorous as those for new molecular entities.

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FDA Alerts About Paclitaxel Plus Atezolizumab for Specific Breast Cancer Type

Paclitaxel protein-bound shouldn’t be replaced with paclitaxel in combination with atezolizumab for unresectable locally advanced/metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. That’s according to an FDA alert issued after a trial showed no benefit for paclitaxel, as opposed to paclitaxel protein-bound. Here is more information. 

 
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