The FDA recently approved tiotropium (Spiriva HandiHaler, Pfizer/Boehringer-Ingelheim) inhalation powder for the long-term, once-daily, maintenance treatment of bronchospasm associated with COPD, including bronchitis and emphysema. In the airways, tiotropium inhibits muscarinic (M3) receptors at the smooth muscle, leading to bronchodilation. The manufacturer anticipates that tiotropium will be available in pharmacies by mid-year.
Targeted Drug Combination Reveals New Activity in Brain Tumors
December 28th 2021A combination of two targeted cancer drugs showed unprecedented, “clinically meaningful” activity in patients with highly malignant brain tumors that carried a rare genetic mutation, according to a clinical trial report by investigators from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.