An ARHP session on Monday will offer attendees the latest information on new medications, new indications, safety issues, and FDA action on biosimilars over the past year. The session, Pharma Update: Safety, New Indications, Latest Approvals, will be held from 2:30 – 3:30 pm in Room 9. The update will be presented by Kamala Nola, PharmD, MS, Professor and Vice-Chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy in Nashville, TN.
“This year, we have new medications that have been approved, including brodalumab and guselkumab for plaque psoriasis,” Dr. Nola said. “There have also been some important updates to some of our current medications. Methotrexate, for example, is now available in an oral form for children, which is a nice option to have, and a self-injectable version of golimumab for rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis is also now available.”
Dr. Nola said the session will also cover recent updates regarding less common conditions, including new medications for giant cell arteritis and gout.
“There have also been some noteworthy developments in the biosimilars arena, including the recent FDA approval of a new infliximab biosimilar for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and plaque psoriasis,” Dr. Nola said.
New guidelines and updates to existing guidelines will also be reviewed, including new guidelines for juvenile idiopathic arthritis, which Dr. Nola said are currently in draft form and are expected to be published in late summer 2018.