The June update to the AHFS Patient Medication Information (PMI) database has been published. Highlights of the update include:

New PMI Monographs:

• Cobicistat (Tybost^®)
  • Cobicistat is used to increase the amounts of atazanavir (Reyataz^®) or darunavir (Prezista^®) in your blood when these medications are used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in adults.
• Venetoclax (Venclexta^®)
  • Venetoclax is used to treat certain patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL; a type of cancer that begins in the white blood cells) who have already been treated with at least one other chemotherapy medication.
• Brivaracetam & Brivaracetam Injection (Briviact^®)
  • Brivaracetam is used is used along with other medications to control partial onset seizures (seizures that involve only one part of the brain) in people who are 16 years of age or older.
• Ixekizumab Injection (Taltz^®)
  • Ixekizumab injection is used to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (a skin disease in which red, scaly patches form on some areas of the body) in people whose psoriasis is too severe to be treated by topical medications alone.
• Defibrotide Injection (Defitelio^®)
  • Defibrotide injection is used to treat adults and children with hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD; blocked blood vessels inside the liver, also known as sinusoidal obstruction syndrome), who have kidney or lung problems after receiving a hematopoietic stem-cell transplant (HSCT; procedure in which certain blood cells are removed from the body and then returned to the body).

FDA MedWatch Alerts – Monograph Revisions

• Aspirin
  • The FDA is warning consumers about the risk of serious bleeding when using nonprescription, also known as over-the-counter or OTC, aspirin-containing antacid products to treat heartburn, sour stomach, acid indigestion, or upset stomach.
• Loperamide
  • FDA is warning that taking higher than recommended doses of the common over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription diarrhea medicine loperamide (Imodium), including through abuse or misuse of the product, can cause serious heart problems that can lead to death.
• Ketoconazole
  •  FDA is warning healthcare professionals to avoid prescribing the antifungal medicine ketoconazole oral tablets to treat skin and nail fungal infections.
• Canagliflozin & Dapagliflozin
  • FDA has strengthened the existing warning about the risk of acute kidney injury.