Drug Safety Update

› Latest issue of 'Drug Safety Update' - Volume 1, Issue 12, July 2008 (244Kb)
(Previous issues can be accessed at the bottom of this page.)

Welcome to 'Drug Safety Update', our regular monthly electronic bulletin bringing you information and clinical advice from the MHRA and the Commission on Human Medicines, its independent advisor, about the safe use of medicines. It is intended for all healthcare professionals who work in the UK - doctors, pharmacists, nurses, dentists, allied health professionals, and coroners.

We have designed the bulletin so that you can find quickly the information that is relevant to your practice. Keywords on main articles enable you to locate items of particular relevance to your area of interest. Where possible, we have indicated where you can access additional information, and websites are highlighted with hyperlinks for ease of use. The bulletin will include regular updates on the Yellow Card Scheme, which remains a vital part of the Agency’s vigilance activities.

We hope that you find this bulletin a useful addition to your information sources. Please tell us what you think of it, and if you have ideas for how we can continue to improve it, please click on the link below to access a short survey, or e-mail us at drugsafetyupdate@mhra.gsi.gov.uk.

› Drug Safety Update survey (external link)

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Latest Drug Safety Updates

• 07 Jul 2008| Drug Safety Update: Volume 1, Issue 12 July 2008

  The July issue of ‘Drug Safety Update’ includes: drug safety advice for varenicline and bisphosphonates; a hot topic article on inhaled products that corticosteroids; and Stop press articles with new information for rotigotine, etoricoxib, ergots, and recombinant human erythropoietins.
  

• 04 Jun 2008| Drug Safety Update: Volume 1, Issue 11, June 2008

  The June issue of ‘Drug Safety Update’ includes: drug safety advice for natalizumab (a treatment for multiple sclerosis) and nicorandil (a treatment for angina); a hot topic article on ezetimibe in cholesterol management; and a Stop press article on herbal products marketed for erectile dysfunction.

• 06 May 2008| Drug Safety Update: Volume 1, Issue 10, May 2008

  The May issue of ‘Drug Safety Update’ includes: drug safety advice for rimonabant (an adjunct to diet and exercise for obese or some overweight patients) and exenatide (a first-in-class incretin mimetic for type 2 diabetes); a hot topic article on monitoring the safety of antiretroviral drugs; and a Stop press article on results from the recent D:A:D safety study for abacavir and didanosine.

• 07 Apr 2008| Drug Safety Update: Volume 1, Issue 9, April 2008

  The April issue of ‘Drug Safety Update’ includes: drug safety advice for contraceptives and the antiepileptic agent carbamazepine; a hot topic article on safe use of herbal medicines; and a Stop press message from Prof Rosalind Smyth (Chair of the Paediatric Medicines Expert Advisory Group) on the use of cough and cold medicines in children. To accompany drug safety advice for contraceptives, a question and answer sheet and an information sheet for women are also available for download.

• 03 Mar 2008| Drug Safety Update: Volume 1, Issue 8, March 2008

  The March issue of ‘Drug Safety Update’ includes: drug safety advice for the antifungal agent ketoconazole and the nucleoside analogue telbivudine; a hot topic article on nasal decongestants that contain pseudoephedrine or ephedrine; and a summary of recent letters sent to healthcare professionals to inform of new safety information.

• 04 Feb 2008| Drug Safety Update: Volume 1, Issue 7, February 2008

  The February issue of ‘Drug Safety Update’ includes: drug safety advice for statins and the smoking-cessation drug varenicline; a hot topic article on biosimilar medicines; and a summary of important emerging drug safety information, including the suspension of the Marketing Authorisation for Duphaston (dydrogesterone).

• 07 Jan 2008| Drug Safety Update: Volume 1, Issue 6, January 2008

  The sixth issue of ‘Drug Safety Update’ includes: Drug safety advice for statins, methylioninium chloride (methylene blue), and bivalirudin (Angiox); a hot topic article on long-acting β2 agonists in asthma management; and a summary of important emerging drug safety information, including the recommendation to suspend the marketing authorisations for carisoprodol.

• 03 Dec 2007| Drug Safety Update: Volume 1, Issue 5, December 2007

  The fifth issue of ‘Drug Safety Update’ includes: drug safety advice for epoetins, glitazones, and ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor antagonists; Hot topic articles on varenicline and on the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal risks associated with NSAIDs and coxibs; and a summary of recent letters sent to healthcare professionals to inform them of new safety information.

• 05 Nov 2007| Drug Safety Update: Volume 1, Issue 4, November 2007

  The fourth issue of ‘Drug Safety Update’ includes: drug safety advice for fibrates, lumiracoxib, and St John’s wort; hot topic articles on illegal herbal remedies that contain Aristolochia and on new sales restrictions for some nasal decongestants; and a reminder about the withdrawal of co-proxamol.

• 01 Oct 2007| Drug Safety Update: Volume 1, Issue 3, October 2007

  The third issue of ‘Drug Safety Update’ includes: drug safety advice for the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs piroxicam, ketoprofen, and ketorolac; Hot topic articles on the safety of botulinum toxin and of the antidiabetic medicines rosiglitazone and pioglitazone; and recent drug safety letters sent to healthcare professionals.