Trending News Today: FDA Commissioner Says Level of E-Cigarette Addiction May Warrant Drug Therapy

Eli Lilly’s cancer treatment Lartruvo, which received accelerated FDA approval in 2016, failed to improve patient survival in a key study, Reuters reported. According to the article, Lartruvo combined with the standard-of-care chemotherapy doxorubicin did not prolong survival more than doxorubicin alone in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma. No new US patients will be started on the drug and Lilly is suspending promotion of the medicine, the article reported.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, said in a public hearing on Friday that the level of young individuals addicted to e-cigarettes may warrant potential drug therapies, The Hill reported. According to the article, Dr Gottlieb said that levels of e-cigarette use among minors are increasing while traditional cigarette use drops to historic lows. Currently, the number of middle and high school students who regularly use e-cigarettes is 3.6 million, which increased by approximately 1.5 million from the previous year, the article noted.

The number of opioid prescriptions in Hawaii has declined over the last 4 years, which has been credited in part to the Hawaii Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, the Associated Press reported. According to the article, state Department of Health epidemiologist Dr Daniel Galanis said the database has drastically reduced the number of patients who obtain prescriptions. The average number of monthly opioid prescriptions decreased from approximately 69,000 in 2015 to 54,500 last year, the article reported.