Summary on the drug Neulasta (filgrastim)
Neulasta (filgrastim) “A new and wonderful drug” As practitioners of health care, students will encounter many patients who are taking a wide variety of drugs or pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of various illnesses. New drugs are added to our formularies on a monthly basis. A small percentage of these drugs are also removed from the formulary for various reasons. If you have been keeping up with current health news, you will know that many of these drugs are unavailable to a large percentage of the population because of cost. Examples are Harvoni and Provenge for the treatment of Hepatitis-C and for the treatment of Stage IV prostate cancer. As health care providers students should be familiar with as many drugs as possible in that you will certainly see them again. You will learn about most of these drugs when you take pharmacology. Students should use their investigative skills to research any drug that they encounter and are not familiar with. Students should also research any word or term that they encounter and are not familiar with. Neulasta is a member of a class of drugs that have been around for several years. Neulasta is a very effective new generation form of those drugs. Students should use their research skills to investigate this drug and also to formulate a professional discussion of this drug. Students should follow the rubric listed: 1. Describe the biological activity and the mechanism of action of this drug. 2. Describe any other currently used drugs that are in the same class as Neulasta and has the same use as Neulasta. 3. Describe the trade name, the generic name and the chemical name of this drug. 4. Identify the company that developed and manufactures Neulasta. 5. Describe the government agency or agencies’ that regulates Pharmaceuticals. 6. Describe side effects from the use of this drug. 7. Describe limitations on the use of this drug 8. Describe contraindications for use of this drug 9. Describe adverse or toxic side effects of this drug. 10. Describe at least two branches of medicine where Neulasta would be of use. 11. Describe in detail how this class of drugs would be of use in the treatment of disease 12. Describe three topics that we have studied this semester where a discussion of Neulasta would be appropriate. 13. Define the term “Mitogen”. 14. Do you personally believe that Neulasta was worth the money invested by Amgen in order to bring this drug to market? Do you believe that the current cost of this drug is justified? How much would a complete course of therapy cost? Please support your answer. Remember that there is no right or wrong answer. Your discussion should be in your own words. Remember the consequences of Plagiarism at the college level. See: Trinity Washington University student handbook. Make sure that your writing is professional. Misspelled words and typo’s are not acceptable. Make sure that you proof read your papers. Make sure to document your sources. .
