The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7475 p464
27 October 2007

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Products

Accessing SPCs
The summaries of product characteristics and patient information leaflets for medicines licensed in the UK are available online

Prescription Products
• Exelon
• Mirtazapine
SPC changes
• Edronax
• Enbrel
Discontinued products
• Securon

Recall Steripaste

Prescription Products

Exelon
Exelon (rivastigmine) transdermal patch is now available from Novartis in two strengths.
Net price:
30 x 4.6mg/24h, £83.84
30 x 9.5mg/24h, £83.84
Legal category:
POM

Mirtazapine
Mirtazapine dispersible tablets 15mg, 30mg and 45mg are now available from Actavis.
Net price: 30 tablets (all strengths), £17.27
Legal category: POM

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SPC changes

Edronax
Advice that Edronax (reboxetine; Pfizer) should not be used for patients under 18 years of age due to risk of suicide-related behaviour has been added to the product’s summary of product characteristics, along with additional information.

Enbrel
New information about infections in patients treated with Enbrel (etanercept; Wyeth) has been added to the special warnings sections in the summaries of product characteristics for Enbrel products.

Patients should be evaluated for infections before, during and after treatment with Enbrel, the SPCs state.

There are also new warnings about tuberculosis: as well as other new information, the SPCs specify that all patients must be evaluated for both active and inactive tuberculosis before starting treatment with Enbrel.

Reactivation of hepatitis B infection has been reported in patients who are chronic carriers of the virus and who have received Enbrel, and there have been reports of worsening of hepatitis C infection in Enbrel-treated patients.

The SPCs now state that patients treated with Enbrel should be given the product’s “patient alert card”.

New information on drug interations with anakinra and with sulfasalazine has also been added.

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Discontinued products

Securon
Securon (verapamil hydrochloride) tablets 40mg and 120mg have been discontinued by Abbott.

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