ACR Convergence 2025| Video: Rheuminations on Milestones & Ageism

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Drug Updates

Subcategories:AnalgesicsBiologics/DMARDs

GlaxoSmithKline’s Shingles Vaccine Gets Approval in Canada

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—Canadian health regulators have approved GlaxoSmithKline’s shingles vaccine, the company said on Friday.1 Shingrix, the British pharma company’s shingles vaccine for people aged 50 years or older, was unanimously recommended for approval by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel last week. Older people are most at risk of an outbreak of shingles,…

Flexion’s Knee Pain Drug Gets FDA Approval

Divya Grover  |  

(Reuters)—Flexion Therapeutics Inc. said its injectable drug to treat osteoarthritis-related knee pain was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The approval comes at a time when U.S. federal authorities are implementing a slew of measures to combat opioid abuse, with President Donald Trump in August declaring the opioid epidemic a national emergency. The…

New Jersey Sues Insys as Opioid Maker Settles with Massachusetts

Nate Raymond  |  

BOSTON (Reuters)—New Jersey on Thursday accused Insys Therapeutics Inc of engaging in a fraudulent scheme to boost sales of a fentanyl-based cancer pain drug, as Massachusetts announced a $500,000 settlement with the drugmaker to resolve similar allegations. The lawsuit by New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino accused Insys of illegally directing its sales force to…

Cigna to End OxyContin Painkiller Coverage, Signs Contract for Alternative

Deena Beasley  |  

(Reuters)—Amid a growing U.S. opioid addiction, health insurer Cigna Corp will stop covering OxyContin, the opioid painkiller sold by Purdue Pharma LP, as of January 1 and will instead cover an equivalent with a formulation less vulnerable to abuse, the company said on Wednesday. The insurer has signed a “value-based contract” with Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc…

Herpes Zoster & Tofacitinib

Arthritis & Rheumatology  |  

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster (HZ), is a common and sometimes debilitating disease that disproportionately affects elderly individuals and those who are immunocompromised. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a 1.5–2-fold higher risk of developing HZ compared with healthy adults. Treatment with some disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) has been shown to increase this risk….

Washington State Sues OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma

Nate Raymond  |  

(Reuters)—Washington state on Thursday sued OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, becoming the latest state or local government to file a lawsuit seeking to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for a national opioid addiction epidemic. The city of Seattle also filed a separate lawsuit against Purdue as well as units of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Johnson and…

Makers of Fast-Acting Opioids Will Have to Pay for Training—FDA

Michael Erman  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters)—Makers of fast-acting opioids will have to fund voluntary training for healthcare professionals who prescribe the drugs, including education on safe prescribing practices and non-opioid alternatives, the course  said on Thursday. The FDA sent letters to 74 manufacturers of immediate-release opioids, notifying them that they will have to fund the development of courses…