Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP, is a freelance medical writer and editor. She is also a pharmacist at New York Presbyterian Hospital–Lower Manhattan campus. She has been a past guest lecturer at Touro College of Pharmacy in New York City for the Medical Writing elective. Dr Kaufman is a member of the New York City Society of Health-Systems Pharmacy, the New York State Council of Health-System Pharmacists, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP)—Northeast Region Affiliate Chapter, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and the Empire State-Metropolitan NY Chapter of the American Medical Writers Association. She received her BS in Pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island (URI) College of Pharmacy and her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences in Boston. She also completed a Drug Information Fellowship at the URI Drug Information Center/Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, R.I. Dr Kaufman is a registered pharmacist and is a Board-Certified Geriatric Pharmacist.

Articles by Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP

Abaloparatide-SC May Reduce Fractures for Osteoporosis & New FDA Safety Website

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | July 22, 2015

In a 25 month Phase 3 trial, abaloparatide-SC reduced the risk of new fractures in patients suffering from postmenopausal osteoporosis. Plus, the FDA launches a new drug safety website.

Phase 3 Studies Evaluate Lesinurad for Gout Treatment

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | July 15, 2015

For 12 months, two studies examined the use of lesinurad in combination with allopurinol to treat gout, with patients achieving reduced serum uric acid levels and demonstrating no severe toxicity.

Biosimilar Drug Updates Reported from EULAR

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | July 8, 2015

At the 2015 meeting of the European League Against Rheumatism in June, multiple studies were presented comparing the use of different biosimilar and biologic drugs in treating rheumatoid arthritis…

Guselkumab Studied to Treat RA & Plaque Psoriasis

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | July 1, 2015

In a Phase 2 study, researchers evaluated the effectiveness of guselkumab to alleviate symptoms in patients with active RA suffering from tender and swollen joints.

Antirheumatic Drugs May Be Linked to Pulmonary Toxicity & More

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | June 24, 2015

At a recent symposium, Kristin Highland, MD, reported on the use of antirheumatic treatments, specifically methotrexate, and their connections with pulmonary toxicity in patients.

Biosimilars for RA Studied in Multiple Trials

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | June 17, 2015

Biosimilars for etanercept and sarilumab are being examined in multiple Phase 3 trials for their effects in RA and psoriasis patients.

Data Collection Drives Evaluation of Psoriasis Treatments

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | June 10, 2015

For six years, the Psoriasis Longitudinal Assessment and Registry (PSOLAR) has collected data to assess the infection risk for drugs treating systemic psoriasis.

Clinical Trials Ongoing for Brodalumab

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | June 5, 2015

Brodalumab, an interleukin (IL) 17 inhibitor, is currently in early clinical trials (Phase 1b and Phase 2) for a number of different autoimmune diseases.1 Amgen recently terminated its co-development and commercialization agreement with AstraZeneca for the brodalumab investigational program in trials for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis. Amgen’s decision to…

FDA Issues Safety Alerts for Bisphosphonates & SGLT2 Inhibitors

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | May 20, 2015

Safety The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated the Warnings and Precautions sections of prescribing information for the bisphosphonate agents, including risedronate sodium tablets and combinations with calcium (Actonel/Atelvia), alendronate and combinations with vitamin D (Binosto/Fosamax), ibandronate (Boniva), etidronate (Didronel) and the RANK-ligand inhibitor denosumab (Prolia/Xgeva).1 This information relates to an increased risk for…

First Biosimilar Drugs Approved in U.S., Canada

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | May 15, 2015

The first biosmilar products have been approved in the U.S. and Canada, following Europe’s early lead. Canada approved its first biosimilar monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy, known as Inflectra (infliximab), on March 30, 2015.1 In Canada, biosimilars are being called subsequent entry biologic (SEB) agents. Inflectra is approved for treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing…