New Therapy Update

Yosprala

A Fixed Dose Combination of Aspirin and Omeprazole

Veltri, Keith T. BPharm, PharmD

From the Department of Pharmacy Practice, Touro College of Pharmacy, New York, NY; and Department of Pharmacy, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY.

Disclosure: The author has no conflicts of interest to report.

Correspondence: Keith T. Veltri, BPharm, PharmD, Touro College of Pharmacy, 230 West 125th Street, Room 449, New York, NY 10027. E-mail: [email protected]

Cardiology in Review 26(1):p 50-53, January/February 2018. | DOI: 10.1097/CRD.0000000000000174

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Patients who survive a primary cerebrovascular or cardiovascular event are at increased risk of a subsequent occurrence. Antiplatelet therapy plays an essential role for secondary prevention in individuals with stroke, transient ischemic attack, acute or chronic artery disease, or peripheral arterial disease. Maintaining high-risk patients on low-dose aspirin therapy is a fundamental component of management. However, poor adherence, secondary to the drug’s gastrointestinal side effects, has been associated with negative cardiovascular outcomes. Numerous studies have indicated that proton-pump inhibitors significantly reduce the risk of upper gastrointestinal adverse events in aspirin-treated patients. The US Food and Drug Administration approved Yosprala (Aralez Pharmaceuticals), a fixed-dose combination of delayed-release aspirin and immediate-release omeprazole, on September 15, 2016. It is the first product to become available in the United States that combines these 2 pharmacologic drug classes, and represents a new therapeutic option for patients and healthcare providers who strive to improve adherence to daily aspirin therapy.