Cardiovascular

Terms of the deal with the second-largest pharmacy benefit manager were not disclosed. Pricing for the PCSK9 inhibitor class has been a source of controversy since the cholesterol-fighting drugs were approved this summer.

The study population took part in the landmark ORIGIN trial, which evaluated hypoglycemia effects in persons with high CV risk and diabetes.

Results released by Sanofi and Regeneron of their PCSK9 inhibitor were based on prior clinical trials.

This study examined patterns of medication adherence after a reduction in medication co-payment amount among privately insured patients living in racially diverse neighborhoods.

Results presented at the American Diabetes Association in June showed no CV risk or benefit and no risk of pancreatic injury, an issue that has been of particular concern to FDA.

The recommendations for improving quality care in Medicaid track recent trends in psychiatric and diabetes care, which recognize the connection between physical and mental health.

A stepped care algorithm developed by scientists has the potential to manage blood pressure in patients who develop intolerance to guideline-based regimens.

An overview of mechanism of action, dosing, interactions, and precautions for evolocumab, which faces an FDA deadline for review August 27, 2015.

A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that grip strength of young, healthy adults could prove useful in the diagnosis of diabetes and hypertension.

Earnings calls over the past 2 days for Express Scripts and Sanofi offered starkly different views of pricing for the first PCSK9 inhibitor to reach the US market.

Health plans and pharmacy benefits managers are expected to scrutinize the FDA approval to ensure that only those patients who truly need the drug get it.Drugmakers say discounts will cause the price to fall below the $14,600 annual wholesale price listed.

The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association's release of recommendations for statin treatment in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 2013 have now proven both cost-effective and accurate in identifying CVD risk.

CDC report estimates that the Affordable Care Act could lead to 111,000 fewer new coronary heart disease events and 95,000 fewer CVD-related deaths by 2050.

Cardiovascular disease may be the leading cause of death in the United States, but half of those deaths can be prevented, according to researchers from Emory's Rollins School of Public Health.

Results are the first from a cardiovascular safety trial in the GLP-1 agonist class. A commentator at the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association asked whether the FDA-mandated studies are giving physicians the right information.

The long-awaited results, presented Monday at the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, are expected to strengthen sitagliptin's position against its competitors in the DPP-4 inhibitor class.

Osama Hamdy, MD, PhD, and other researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center showed that patients with obesity and diabetes who lost at least 7% of their weight the first year stood a better chance of keeping it off.

Researchers traced a patient's nonadherence to cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related medications to the number of medications an individual is prescribed as well as at what times these medications need to be taken. While prescribed CVD medications control associated risk factors such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia, more than half of the patients on a prescribed medication plan fail to take their prescriptions as needed.

Authors of an accompanying editorial said the real issue is lowering LDL cholesterol, not necessarily which medication is used.

Until this study, no one had reported on how the discrepancies between adult and pediatric guidelines might affect treatment for young adults.

A review of 24 trials covering more than 10,000 patients confirmed earlier findings that PCSK9 inhibitors dramatically reduce cholesterol and risk of heart attacks. But an editorial that appeared alongside the meta-analysis in Annals of Internal Medicine said long-term studies are needed on this new drug class.

The incidence rate for heart failure dropped steeply over a decade in a population-based study, and while hospitalization rates remained steady over time, causes shifted from cardiovascular to noncardiovascular.

Links between cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular events are well-established. More recently, researchers are turning their attention to the connections between fitness and certain cancers.

Targeting glucose control and managing cardiovascular (CV) risk factors may prevent future CV events, and have positive downstream impact by reducing costs to healthcare stakeholders.

Amgen's cholesterol-fighting PCSK9 inhibitor was shown to reduce the likelihood that patients would suffer cardiovascular events. The question now is whether FDA will grant approval soon and how widely the drug will be used, given speculation about its cost.