Treating rare condition may not be this drug’s real purpose
By now, you’ve probably seen that commercial where a man is crying at a child’s birthday party. And, as the actor says, it was the third time that day and he “wasn’t even sad.”
Cut to a scene where the man is now surrounded by his wife and a smiling doctor as his PseudoBulbar Affect (PBA), has apparently been diagnosed and treated with a drug called Nuedexta.
We’re told that PBA can cause “uncontrollable crying and laughing,” and now the man is shown simply smiling as he meets with friends and even goes out to dinner.
But where Nuedexta is concerned, it looks like Big Pharma isn’t crying, but laughing.
Laughing all the way to the bank.
PBA is quite real, but there are a couple of things you need to know about this condition.
First, many other drugs — ones that have been on the market for a long time — are said to be effective in treating the disorder.
Second, PBA isn’t just about laughing or crying a lot. That could simply mean you’re a sucker for reading all those sappy stories on Facebook!
Actual PBA is caused by a brain condition or injury to the brain. And if that brain condition is treated, those laughing / crying spells usually stop.
Plus that, it isn’t something that millions and millions suffer from. It’s, what one psychiatrist called, a “niche condition.”
So perhaps the real question here is why the drugmaker, Avanir Pharmaceuticals, is spending so much money on these primetime ads and other sales efforts for a risky med that — if doctors only used for the condition it was approved for — has such a limited market.
Dr. Steve Balt, who edits an online psychiatry blog, thinks it’s a way for Avanir to get its “foot in the door” for this drug to be used, and eventually approved, for a list of conditions as long as your arm.
And even if you don’t suddenly burst into laughter or tears, you still might find yourself holding a Nuedexta Rx.
Dr. Balt, who has been following the Nuedexta story for some time now, discovered that eight years ago, the company’s CEO described the med as a “pipeline in a pill” in a conference call with shareholders.
And it appears that “pipeline” is primed and ready.
Avanir has already announced that Nuedexta has the “potential” to be used for conditions such as pain from MS, diabetic nerve pain, and behavioral problems in those with dementia.
Plus that, Dr. Balt noted that doctors can already be prescribing the drug off-label for other conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism, dementia, and “maybe even childhood irritability.”
He’s also convinced that Avanir will try to get the drug approved for all of these conditions, which is very likely to be a shoo-in, since the med is already on the market for PBA.
With so many uses in that pipeline already, and who-knows-what coming up next, it’s important that you know the side effects this drug can cause.
They’re nothing to laugh about!
For example, Nuedexta can:
- cause such common reactions as dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, fluid retention and swelling in your legs,
- trigger a potentially deadly heart rhythm called “QT prolongation,”
- lower blood platelets, which “can be fatal,” and
- cause drug-induced hepatitis.
And that’s just the short list.
All of which makes it vital that you don’t just take any Rx your doctor hands you, but ask him what it is and why he’s prescribing it for you.
Because taking risky drugs you don’t need is no laughing matter.
“Avanir shelves Danny Glover PBA awareness ad in favor of branded Nuedexta effort” Beth Snyder Bulik, FiercePharma, fiercepharma.com
