The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has issued its monthly advice on newly licensed medicines.
Beclometasone, formoterol, glycopyrronium inhaler (Trimbow®) has been accepted for use as a maintenance treatment of asthma, in adults not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a long-acting beta2-agonist and high dose of inhaled corticosteroid, and who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year.
Somatrogon (Ngenla®) has been accepted for use in the treatment of children and adolescents from 3 years of age with growth disturbance due to insufficient secretion of growth hormone. It is noted that this is an additional treatment choice in the therapeutic class of recombinant human growth hormones.
Potassium citrate and potassium hydrogen carbonate granules (Sibnayal®) has been accepted for use in the treatment of distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) in adults, adolescents and children aged one year and older. It is noted that this advice applies only in the context of an approved NHSScotland Patient Access Scheme (PAS) and the evidence used for this decision is based on three days of treatment. As such it would be expected that this item would be prescribed in secondary care.
Action: Clinicians should be aware of the recommendations of the SMC. Routine use of rejected and restricted medicines should be avoided.