Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Biotech Valuation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ian@SI who wrote (6042)	3/27/2002 9:57:47 AM
From: Biomaven	Respond to of 52153

Here's the Boston Globe this morning as well: Study questions use of drug on worsening heart patients By Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press, 3/27/2002 CHICAGO - A drug commonly used for short-term treatment of worsening heart failure in hospitalized patients may cause dangerously low blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythms, researchers found. The findings suggest that the drug, milrinone, should be reserved for patients who do not respond to other medication, said Dr. Mihai Gheorghiade of Northwestern University. The study is one of the few to compare a placebo with a drug for worsening heart failure, a condition that sends about 1 million Americans to the hospital each year. Despite the poor results, it shows that such studies can and should be done on similar drugs, Gheorghiade said. ''We should not take things for granted, just because they have been approved, to assume they are useful,'' said Gheorghiade, who led the study, published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. An accompanying editorial says that, given the milrinone findings, the use of other drugs commonly used in worsening heart failure, dopamine and dobutamine, should be reconsidered, because all three drugs work similarly to strengthen the heartbeat. Milrinone, sold as Primacor, was approved in 1987. Heart failure, in which the heart gradually loses its ability to pump blood efficiently, affects nearly 5 million Americans. The condition may be chronic, but patients can develop severe attacks of breathing difficulty that require hospitalization. Dr. Ann Bolger, an American Heart Association spokeswoman, said that patients studied were generally less sick than those who typically would be given milrinone. The study shows ''there really isn't any advantage'' to giving milrinone to patients who are not acutely ill, Bolger said. Sanofi-Synthelabo Inc., which markets milrinone in the United States, funded the study. The company's Web site warns that the drug may cause irregular heartbeats, and it says that milrinone should be stopped if blood pressure falls too low. It also says that the drug may not be safe or effective when given for longer than 48 hours and that long-term oral treatment has been linked with an increased risk of hospitalization and death. This story ran on page A4 of the Boston Globe on 3/27/2002. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. Peter