Balanced discussion of second-generation antihistamines' data

Rossen Boev,1 Jürgen WG Bentz2 1UCB Pharma, Bulle, Switzerland; 2UCB Pharma, Brussels, BelgiumIt is with interest that we read the paper "Treatment of allergic rhinitis and urticaria: a review of the newest antihistamine drug bilastine" by Wang et al1, in which the authors provide insights...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Therapeutics and clinical risk management 2016-01, Vol.12, p.1777-1781
Main Authors: Boev, Rossen, Bentz, Jürgen Wg
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
allergic diseases
antihistamines
bilastine
Letter
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Rossen Boev,1 Jürgen WG Bentz2 1UCB Pharma, Bulle, Switzerland; 2UCB Pharma, Brussels, BelgiumIt is with interest that we read the paper "Treatment of allergic rhinitis and urticaria: a review of the newest antihistamine drug bilastine" by Wang et al1, in which the authors provide insights into the burden of allergic diseases in the Asia-Pacific region. Unfortunately, we found that the review provides some unsubstantiated information, incorrect statements, and/or data inconsistencies as listed below.The abstract states that bilastine "has very low potential for drug-drug interactions"; however, the drug label lists interactions with ketoconazole, erythromycin, diltiazem, and other intestinal efflux transporters, leading to 2-3-fold increases in drug maximum serum concentration and area under the curve2. Also, food interactions decrease bilastine's bioavailability by 30%, and the label recommendation is that it is taken 1 hour before or 2 hours after intake of food or fruit juice2.View the original article by Wang et al.
ISSN:1176-6336
1178-203X
1178-203X
DOI:10.2147/TCRM.S124148