Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/579724
Clinical Lecturer in Child Health at the University of Aberdeen, said: "There are likely to be a number of contributing factors to the drop in instances of asthma among school children in Aberdeen, and indeed across Western Europe [such as] more careful diagnoses being made nowadays. There have also been clear changes in our environment— from diet to the air we breathe. Some might even be tempted to say the smoking ban could be part of it, but we don't know for certain." Pro- fessor Graham Devereux, Professor of Respiratory Medicine, University of Aberdeen, noted that "Prevalence of asthma is down—but is still nearly double the rate it was in 1989 (10.3%) and is far higher than the rate recorded 50 years ago in the first study (4.1%)." Asthma rates were more than 30% in 2004. NHS England commissions first new TB drugs in 50 years L E E D S , U K — A c c o r d i n g t o Pharma Times, NHS England has published a new Clinical Commis- sioning Policy making Janssen's Sirturo (bedaquiline) and Otsuka's Deltyba (delamanid) routinely available on the National Health Service for the treatment of pul- monary multi-drug resistant tuber- c u l o s i s ( M D R - T B ) , o f f e r i n g patients easier access to the first novel therapies in nearly 50 years. Sirturo has a novel mechanism of action, killing the TB bacterium by targeting adenosine triphosphate synthase. Phase II data show that it can shorten the time to treatment response and improve cure rates compared to placebo. Deltyba is also unique, inhibiting mycolic acid biosynthesis, essential for cell wall formation in M. tuberculosis. Clinical data show that patients given the drug twice daily achieved a statistically significant increase in sputum culture conversion–a mea- surement used to show when a patient is no longer infectious–after two months (45.4%) compared to those on placebo (29.6%). Mylan and Disney team to fight allergies HERTFORDSHIRE, UK and PITTSBURGH, PA, US—Fierce Pharma Marketing has reported that Mylan and Disney have part- nered to launch MyAllergyKing- dom.com, a website that aims to help families avoid allergic triggers and prepare them in case of ana- phylaxis. The companies plan to update the website each month with new content, including tips for newly diagnosed patients, recipes, blog posts and craft projects geared toward children with severe allergies. They will also be releasing a children's storybook and cook- b o o k . I n a d d i t i o n , t h i s y e a r ' s annual Epcot International Food and Wine Festival will feature food allergy-friendly programming. Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said its "expertise coupled with the magic of Disney storytelling can help support families managing severe allergies in an effective and engaging way." 10 OCTOBER2015 Inhalation