Supportive Care News

Relistor™ Approved for Opioid-induced Constipation (04/30/2008)
The pharmaceutical company Wyeth recently announced that their drug Relistor™ (methylnaltrexone bromide) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of constipation related to the use of opioid pain relievers.

Denosumab Shows Promise in Women with Postmenopausal Osteoporosis (04/11/2008)
A recent study conducted by the pharmaceutical company Amgen reveals that the drug denosumab significantly increased bone mineral density among women with early- and late-stage postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Neulasta® on First Day of Chemotherapy May Be More Convenient for Gynecologic Cancers (03/17/2008)
The administration of the blood cell growth factor Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim) on the first day of chemotherapy among women with gynecologic cancers may be as effective as and more convenient than second-day administration. These results were recently reported at the 2008 annual Society of Gynecologic Oncologists meeting.

Further Review of Anemia Drugs by FDA (01/11/2008)
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it is reviewing new data regarding erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs).  ESAs are drugs used to treat anemia. They include Procrit® (epoetin alfa), Epogen® (epoetin alfa), and Aranesp® (darbepoetin alfa).

Romiplostim Improves Low Platelet Levels (01/02/2008)
According to results recently presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the investigative agent romiplostim (AMG531) continues to significantly improve platelet levels. Results from previous trials have indicated that romiplostim is highly effective at improving platelet levels among patients with cancer and patients with idiopathic thrombocytic purpura (ITP). These results provide further evidence that romiplostim is an effective therapeutic agent for treatment of low platelet levels in various diseases.

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