Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
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Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · Feb 2010
Controlled Clinical TrialSelective antagonism of opioid-induced ventilatory depression by an ampakine molecule in humans without loss of opioid analgesia.
Ventilatory depression is a significant risk associated with the use of opioids. We assessed whether opioid-induced ventilatory depression can be selectively antagonized by an ampakine without reduction of analgesia. In 16 healthy men, after a single oral dose of 1,500 mg of the ampakine CX717, a target concentration of 100 ng/ml alfentanil decreased the respiratory frequency by only 2.9 +/- 33.4% as compared with 25.6 +/- 27.9% during placebo coadministration (P < 0.01). ⋯ In contrast, CX717 did not affect alfentanil-induced analgesia in either electrical or heat-based experimental models of pain. Both ventilatory depression and analgesia were reversed with 1.6 mg of naloxone. These results support the use of ampakines as selective antidotes in humans to counter opioid-induced ventilatory depression without affecting opioid-mediated analgesia.
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Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · Feb 2010
Delays in new drug applications in Japan and industrial R&D strategies.
The gap between Japan and both the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) with regard to access to new drugs is becoming a major issue in Japan. We analyzed the time lags involved in new drug application (NDA) and biological license application submissions in Japan, the US, and the EU in order to identify the causes of delayed access. The time lag related to submission of applications ("submission lag") was longer for in-licensed products and for non-Japanese companies. ⋯ A bridging strategy (extrapolative use of foreign clinical data in the clinical data package based on International Conference on Harmonisation guideline E5) seemed to reduce submission lag, but the association between the two diminished when the cause-and-effect relationship was specifically investigated. These results suggest that multinational companies are likely to place more emphasis on the choice of development strategies that successfully lead to their goal rather than on direct costs and expected sales when deciding to introduce their pharmaceutical products in Japan. Our findings indicate that the clinical development guidances that helps pharmaceutical companies decide on investment and strategies are also the key to narrowing the gap in access to new drugs.
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Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · Feb 2010
FDA regulation of dietary supplements and requirements regarding adverse event reporting.
In 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDC Act) to set up a distinct regulatory framework for what we now call dietary supplements. The DSHEA was passed with the intent of striking a balance between providing consumers access to safe dietary supplements to help maintain or improve their health and giving the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate and take action against manufacturers of supplements or supplement ingredients that present safety problems, are presented with false or misleading claims, or are adulterated or misbranded. This article will present FDA's recent experience in collecting and evaluating dietary supplement adverse event data for the purpose of assuring the public that the dietary supplements they purchase are safe.