October 4 Pharmacy Week in Review

This weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings, and more. Our Week in Review is a can't miss for the busy pharmacy professional.

Nicole Grassano, Host: Hello and welcome to the Pharmacy Times News Network. I’m Nicole Grassano your host for our Pharmacy Week in Review.

Apalutamide along with ongoing androgen deprivation therapy, demonstrated an overall survival benefit compared with a placebo regimen in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, Pharmacy Times reported.

Presented at ESMO 2019, the data, which are from the phase 3 SPARTAN study, further support apalutamide as a standard of care option in this population.

For the study, patients with non-metastatic CRPC and prostate-specific antigen doubling time of less than or equal to 10 months were randomized to receive either apalutamide or a placebo, in combination with ongoing ADT.

In a second interim analysis, apalutamide was associated with improved overall survival compared with the placebo at 41 months of follow-up. The updated analyses also demonstrated that 4-year overall survival rates for apalutamide and the placebo were 72.1% and 64.7%, respectively.

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases is continuing to urge US adults and children aged 6 months and older to get vaccinated, Contemporary Clinic reported.

CDC estimates show that the overall flu vaccination coverage increased over the past decade, with 51% of children age 6 months to 17 years getting vaccinated between 2010 and 2011. However, data indicate that about 45% of United States adults remain unprotected each year.

Vaccine hesitation is a public health concern across the nation, and Dr. William Schaffner, medical director of the NFID, is adamant about changing consumer perceptions. In his opening statement at the conference, Schaffner reminded the audience that “unless we all start to prioritize prevention, vaccine preventable diseases will persist in the United States.”

For the 2019-2020 season, vaccine manufacturers estimate that up to 169 million doses of influenza vaccine will be available in the United States. The composition of the vaccines has been updated to protect against the influenza viruses that research suggests will be most common this season.

Pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy led to an increased pathological complete response compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with triple-negative breast cancer, Specialty Pharmacy Times reported.

The trial investigated a regimen of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab monotherapy compared with a regimen of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by adjuvant placebo.

Researchers randomized patients with triple-negative breast cancer in a 2:1 ratio to receive a 200-mg dose of pembrolizumab every 3 weeks or the placebo. Patients received 4 cycles of carboplatin plus paclitaxel followed by 4 cycles of doxorubicin or epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide. Following surgery, adjuvant pembrolizumab was continued for 9 cycles or until disease recurrence or unacceptable toxicity.

Pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy resulted in a statistically significant increase in pCR versus chemotherapy, from 51.2% with neoadjuvant chemotherapy to 64.8% for neoadjuvant pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, in patients with early-stage TNBC.

Pharmacists may get more questions about Eliquis, if patients have seen a recent commercial for the prescription medication.

In the spot, called “Around the Corner: Play” the narrator explains that almost 98% of patients on Eliquis didn’t experience another deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism once they started on the medication.

According to the commercial, Eliquis prescribed oral medication that is intended to treat DVT and PE while reducing the risk of blood clots when taken regularly as ordered.

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Thanks for watching our Pharmacy Week in Review. I’m Nicole Grassano at the Pharmacy Times News Network.