BiDil: from another vantage point.
In a recent Health Affairs Web Exclusive, Pamela Sankar and Jonathan Kahn argue against the Food and Drug Administration's approval of BiDil as a new drug for the treatment of heart failure in African Americans. Their paper questions the existence of disparities between African American and other heart-failure patients and the motivations of BiDil's developers and manufacturer. The disparities are confirmed and persistent, however, and BiDil's effectiveness is proven. If the authors' logic were to prevail, patients would be denied life-saving therapy. Continued investigation will likely narrow identification of patients who will benefit.
Puckrein
Gary
G
National Minority Health Month Foundation in Washington, DC, USA. gpuckrein@americanvisions.com
D001741:Black or African American / Q000235:genetics*; D017277:Drug Approval; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004345:Drug Industry; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000208:ethnology; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D006830:Hydralazine; D007548:Isosorbide Dinitrate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012306:Risk; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D004338:Drug Combinations; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; C431665:isosorbide-hydralazine combination; D006830:Hydralazine; D007548:Isosorbide Dinitrate