New Treatment Option for People Living with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

(ARA) — Nearly 19 million Americans currently live with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), commonly known as acid reflux disease, and suffer from painful and uncomfortable symptoms such as frequent and persistent heartburn.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved KAPIDEX (TM) (dexlansoprazole) delayed release capsules for the once-daily, oral treatment of heartburn associated with symptomatic non-erosive GERD, the healing of erosive esophagitis (EE) and the maintenance of healed EE. KAPIDEX (30 mg and 60 mg) is the first PPI with a Dual Delayed Release (TM) (DDR) formulation that provides two separate releases of medication.

GERD is a chronic condition that can occur when the valve at the lower end of the esophagus does not work properly, causing stomach contents to back up into the esophagus repeatedly. If the esophagus is continually exposed to stomach contents, damage to the lining of the esophagus such as breaks or lesions can occur, a condition known as erosive esophagitis (EE).

GERD can affect both men and women, and its symptoms are often triggered by certain foods, stress, or pressure on the stomach.

“Clinical studies have shown that KAPIDEX has the ability to provide up to 24-hour heartburn relief in patients with GERD,” said Charles Baum, M.D., executive medical director at Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. “KAPIDEX is the first PPI that provides two separate releases of medication.”

About KAPIDEX (dexlansoprazole) delayed release capsules
KAPIDEX (dexlansoprazole) delayed release capsules, previously known by the development code TAK-390MR, is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), which decreases acid production by turning off many of the acid pumps in the stomach, thus helping to protect the esophagus from acidic reflux so that esophageal inflammation can heal. KAPIDEX combines an enantiomer of lansoprazole with a Dual Delayed Release (TM) (DDR) formulation designed to provide two separate releases of medication. KAPIDEX, taken once-daily, is approved for the healing of all grades of erosive esophagitis (EE) for up to eight weeks, maintaining healing of EE for up to six months, and treating heartburn associated with symptomatic non-erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) for four weeks.

Important Safety Information
KAPIDEX is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to any component of the formulation. Symptomatic response with KAPIDEX does not preclude the presence of gastric malignancy. The most commonly reported treatment-emergent adverse reactions (≥2%): diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, upper respiratory tract infection, vomiting, and flatulence. KAPIDEX should not be co-administered with atazanavir. KAPIDEX may interfere with the absorption of drugs for which gastric pH is important for bioavailability (e.g., ampicillin esters, digoxin, iron salts, ketoconazole). Patients taking concomitant warfarin may require monitoring for increases in international normalized ratio (INR) and prothrombin time.

Please see the complete prescribing information and visit the KAPIDEX Web site at www.kapidex.com.

KAPIDEX is a product of Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. To learn more about the product, speak with your healthcare provider.

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Global Warming Solution

by William Yeatman

Global warming may or may not be a problem. Man may or may not be driving it. Given the uncertainties, a significant amount of global regret may apply if we divert too much of our global wealth to solving what may be a non-existent or trivial problem, especially if that diversion mires billions in poverty. On the other hand, we may also regret not doing anything if man-made global warming does turn out to be a problem. It is therefore prudent to examine what steps we can take that would prove beneficial whether or not anthropogenic global warming turns out to be a problem. These steps can be termed “no regrets” policies.

What makes a No Regrets Global Warming Policy? A global warming policy can be termed “no regrets” as long as it:

* Reduces the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere, or
* Mitigates, prevents or reduces a harm associated with global warming, or
* Provides greater capacity for dealing with problems associated with global warming
* Without imposing significant cost or diverting economic activity.

Top Five “No Regrets” Policies

1.) Eliminate all subsidies to fuel use.
Subsidies to energy R&D cost taxpayers millions of dollars while producing minimal benefits. While these programs may be relatively small given the size of domestic energy markets, they serve little, if any, useful purpose while subsidizing large corporations at taxpayer expense. The potential threat of global warming, whether it is real or not, is simply one more reason to eliminate these subsidy programs. An international agreement aimed at ending energy subsidy with binding targets would be a significant victory for emissions reduction. Unlike Kyoto, which forces an energy starvation diet on its participants, such a treaty would be a move to combat energy obesity.

2.) Repeal the Federal Flood Insurance Program.
Much of the concern over global warming’s potential for harm in the US relates to sea level rise and the flooding that will result. However, much of the investment in potentially vulnerable areas is a result of the Federal flood Insurance Program. This program encourages building in vulnerable areas by acting as a moral hazard: people take greater risks because the government has said it will help bear that risk. Reform would reduce the moral hazard connected with building on vulnerable land, transferring the risk from the taxpayer to the private sector, which is likely to take a more realistic view of the issue.

3.) Reform Air Traffic Control Systems.
Greater demand for air travel means more flights, which means greater fuel use and increased emissions. Yet, the current government-operated system of air traffic control, based on a 1920s-era system of beacons, may hinder innovations that could reduce fuel use and emissions. As a general rule, the shorter the flight, the less fuel will be consumed. Yet neither airlines nor pilots have the freedom to choose the most direct and economical route. Giving pilots freedom to map their own course is an attractive and desirable change in the eyes of the industry, and the impact on the environment would be tremendous. As well as saving considerable amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, the policy will deliver significant benefits in terms of time and expense to the US economy. By obviating significant reductions in service levels associated with more routine applications of emissions reduction policy, it is to be preferred to that approach.

4.) Facilitate Electricity Competition.
By rejecting the model of central regulation and allowing suppliers to meet their customers’ needs more exactly while relying on distributed generation, energy waste and the associated emissions will reduce considerably. This reduction in waste will prove economically beneficial even if emissions themselves do not cause problems.

5.) Reduce Regulatory Barriers to New Nuclear Build.
There is no other technology than nuclear that is proven to be capable of providing emissions-free energy at the scale required to make significant reductions in carbon emissions. The problem is that thanks to anti-nuclear activism by environmentalists in the 1970s, it takes a very long time to build a nuclear plant. This pushes development and construction costs up to the level where it is not economically competitive with higher-emitting forms of electricity generation like coal and natural gas. According to the nuclear energy institute, it takes 10 years from concept to operation to build a nuclear plant, and only four of those are construction, the rest is permit application development (2 years) and decision-making by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (4 years).

From http://www.globalwarming.org/

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