Any thoughts on dronedarone?

[Omegadramon]

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http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/360/7/668

Is this going to be Safoni's successor to Lovenox?

 

[Quiksilver]

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/360/7/668

Is this going to be Safoni's successor to Lovenox?

I don't understand why they needed to test this against a placebo? It should have more activity in a fib then a placebo. They should be testing it against something like amiodarone and proving the benefit there. My first question about evaluating drugs is why is this going to be better then what we already have?

are you suggesting its going to a Safoni's money making successor because enoxaparin is not for arrhythmias? My answer is I don't know. I think for drug companies to make money, they need more then a "me too" drug to really make a splash. Enoxaparin proved to be one of those drugs, theres nothing else like it out there and it is such a benefit to a patient's health. You look at the extended release amoxicillin or treximet products that others come out and realize how stupid those products really are for the marginal benefit they bring.

 

[ItsOverZyvox]

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/360/7/668

Is this going to be Safoni's successor to Lovenox?

Sanofi's Lovenox is a Low Molecular Weight Heparin, an anticoagulant. Dronedarone is an antiarrhythmic like Amiodarone. I can't see how it can be a therapeutic successor to Lovenox. If you're considering it as a financial successor, then No Way... A-fib market just isn't as big as Anticoag market.

 

[njac]

I was wondering if Safoni was another drug company or a joke like Saphony...

So my hospital switched over about 80% to fondaparinux - 2 years ago or so we were all about the tinzaparin - what happened? contract prices? There was that study a couple months ago that said tinza increases mortality in old people.

 

[ItsOverZyvox]

Enoxaparin proved to be one of those drugs, theres nothing else like it out there and it is such a benefit to a patient's health. You look at the extended release amoxicillin or treximet products that others come out and realize how stupid those products really are for the marginal benefit they bring.

How different do you think Enoxaparin is to Dalteparin?

And not all Me Too drugs are bad.. Look at Augmentin.. Amox with clavulante.. great idea to combine a beta lactam with a beta lactamase inhibitor. So Timentin came out.. even better idea.. because now it covers anaerobes and pseudomonas. Then came Zosyn, Pip-Tazo which is superior than Timentin.

There are meritous Me Too drugs.

 

[ItsOverZyvox]

I was wondering if Safoni was another drug company or a joke like Saphony...

So my hospital switched over about 80% to fondaparinux - 2 years ago or so we were all about the tinzaparin - what happened? contract prices? There was that study a couple months ago that said tinza increases mortality in old people.

Not too up on tinza.. But going to Fonda 2.5mg would have absolutley saved millions at your facility. Give that pharmacist a bonus!

 

[njac]

well she created herself the antithrombosis pharmacist position at our hospital. I think she wants more titles!

 

[ItsOverZyvox]

well she created herself the antithrombosis pharmacist position at our hospital. I think she wants more titles!

I'm sure she saved your institution enough money to have created more than one position. Good for her!

I don't know why people get so hung up on titles. When people ask, I usually respond "I'm a druggist..." and they always ask "what drug store do you work at?"

 

[Hels2007]

I don't understand why they needed to test this against a placebo?

Testing against placebo is the FDA requirement for approval for most therapeutic areas.

 

[Priapism321]

Testing against placebo is the FDA requirement for approval for most therapeutic areas.

Yeah, that would be the minimum requirement, nothing stopping a company from comparing a new drug with active agents. Some people believe that the minimum should be a comparison to the "standard of care" in a given area, but that would mean a lot of drugs would be outed up front as not bringing much more to the therapeutic table relative to what we already have.

 

[Omegadramon]

Sanofi's Lovenox is a Low Molecular Weight Heparin, an anticoagulant. Dronedarone is an antiarrhythmic like Amiodarone. I can't see how it can be a therapeutic successor to Lovenox. If you're considering it as a financial successor, then No Way... A-fib market just isn't as big as Anticoag market.

Yeah, my question was about it being a financial successor. I can already see the commercials "IT WON'T TURN YOU BLUE....probably."

 

[finkejh]

Dronedarone is actually being compared to amiodarone in a trial called DIONYSOS. The preliminary findings are that amiodarone seems to be slightly more effective, but dronedarone is associated with less organ toxicity and fewer side effects.