Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com, the world’s leading palliative care website.

Drug updates

Extemporaneous thalidomide oral suspension stability study

A stability study of thalidomide oral suspension 20mg/mL, using the contents of oral thalidomide capsules and a 1:1 mixture of Ora-Plus and Ora-Sweet, has been published. The HPLC method demonstrated stability for at least 35 days when stored in amber plastic bottles under refrigeration. For more information click here.

NPC review oxycodone/naloxone

The NHS National Prescribing Centre (NPC) has published a review of modified release oxycodone/naloxone in cancer pain discussing the results of a published 4 week clinical trial. For more information click here.

US FDA approve fentanyl sublingual spray

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a fentanyl sublingual spray (Subsys^®, Insys Therapeutics, Phoenix, Arizona) for the treatment of adults with breakthrough cancer pain, who are already receiving and who are tolerant to opioid therapy for their underlying persistent cancer pain. For more information click here.

AWMSG approve tapentadol m/r for restricted use

The All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) has recommended tapentadol modified release (m/r) (Palexia^® SR, Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire) as an option, within NHS Wales, for restricted use for patients with severe chronic pain in whom morphine sulphate m/r has failed to provide adequate pain control or is not tolerated.

The Group does not recommend tapentadol m/r for the management of severe chronic pain in adults, which can be adequately managed only with opioid analgesics, outside of the subpopulation described above.

The Group also recommends that tapentadol m/r should initially be prescribed by a specialist. For more information click here.

SMC accepts fentanyl single dose nasal spray

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has accepted fentanyl single dose nasal spray (Instanyl^®, Nycomed, Marlow, Buckinghamshire) for use within NHS Scotland for the management of breakthrough pain in adults already receiving maintenance opioid therapy for chronic cancer pain. Its use is restricted to patients who are unsuitable for other short-acting oral opioids (e.g. oral morphine) as an alternative to other buccal and sublingual fentanyl preparations. For more information click here.

Prepared by Sarah Charlesworth and Andrew Wilcock.