Events Calendar
In This Section
Deadline is Friday for list of area Lenten fish fries
Hoppin' Frog on list of world's top brewers
Sugar cookies are sweet, easy treat
Q.: I have a cookie recipe that calls for c...
Trifecta of celebrations in February
Sparkling wine best when chilled|
Dessert toppings double as dips
Most Read Stories
Man robbed at Tallmadge Avenue eatery
Four teens restrain man, take items from his Akron home
Another winter punch heading toward Ohio
Complaints against officer keep coming
Police: Ohio girl dies after fall into snow bank
Cuyahoga Falls residents come home to find burning couch on balcony
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Garfield at Buchtel basketball
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Citizens United v. F.E.C. (Part 4): Kennedy's and O'Connor's Basic Approaches to Constitutional Decisionmaking – Top Down and Bottom Up
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
Track HR Research
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
By Matthew Perrone
Associated Press
POSTED: 11:20 a.m. EST, Nov 17, 2009
WASHINGTON: Federal health officials said today a popular heartburn medication can interfere with the blood thinner Plavix, a drug taken by millions of Americans to reduce risks of heart attack and stroke.
The Food and Drug Administration said the stomach-soothing drug Prilosec cuts the blood-thinning effect of Plavix by half.
Regulators said the key ingredient in Procter & Gamble's Prilosec blocks Plavix, known generically as clopidogrel, from taking full effect.
''Patients at risk for heart attacks or strokes who use clopidogrel to prevent blood clots will not get the full effect of this medicine,'' the agency said in a statement.
Plavix is marketed by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. With global sales of $8.6 billion last year, it's the world's second-best selling drug behind Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor.
Because Plavix can upset the stomach, it is often prescribed with stomach acid-blocking drugs.
The FDA says patients who need to reduce their acid should take alternative drugs like Johnson & Johnson's Mylanta or Boehringer Ingelheim's Zantac.
Information about the drug interaction between Plavix and certain heartburn medications is not new. In January, Sanofi and Bristol-Myers updated Plavix's labeling to advise against using it in combination with certain heartburn drugs, following medical journal articles about the negative interaction.
A Sanofi spokeswoman said the company has now bolstered that labeling.
''We've strengthened the label to say that these drugs should be avoided altogether, not just discouraged,'' said Noelle Boyd, Sanofi's senior communications director.
WASHINGTON: Federal health officials said today a popular heartburn medication can interfere with the blood thinner Plavix, a drug taken by millions of Americans to reduce risks of heart attack and stroke.
The Food and Drug Administration said the stomach-soothing drug Prilosec cuts the blood-thinning effect of Plavix by half.
Regulators said the key ingredient in Procter & Gamble's Prilosec blocks Plavix, known generically as clopidogrel, from taking full effect.
''Patients at risk for heart attacks or strokes who use clopidogrel to prevent blood clots will not get the full effect of this medicine,'' the agency said in a statement.
Plavix is marketed by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. With global sales of $8.6 billion last year, it's the world's second-best selling drug behind Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor.
Because Plavix can upset the stomach, it is often prescribed with stomach acid-blocking drugs.
The FDA says patients who need to reduce their acid should take alternative drugs like Johnson & Johnson's Mylanta or Boehringer Ingelheim's Zantac.
Information about the drug interaction between Plavix and certain heartburn medications is not new. In January, Sanofi and Bristol-Myers updated Plavix's labeling to advise against using it in combination with certain heartburn drugs, following medical journal articles about the negative interaction.
A Sanofi spokeswoman said the company has now bolstered that labeling.
''We've strengthened the label to say that these drugs should be avoided altogether, not just discouraged,'' said Noelle Boyd, Sanofi's senior communications director.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
