Site News

Website updates in March and April

Key updates for March and April are shown below. In addition to these changes, those interactions with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir which cite the Paxlovid product labels have been updated to reflect the latest versions of the labels.

Removed COVID Treatments
Two obsolete COVID-19 therapies (Bamlanivimab/Etesevimab and Bebtelovimab) have been removed from the interaction ch...

Interaction checker updates for January and February

Two new comedications have been added to the interaction checker - betamethasone (topical) has been added to the Steroids class and fosphenytoin has been added to the Anticonvulsant class.

Colour changes have also been made to the interactions listed below:

Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (5 day)
↓ Red to Amber: Ciclosp...

New comedications added in December

Four new comedications have been added to the interaction checker this month:

• Fosaprepitant (Gastrointestinal Agents (antiemetics))
• Ramelteon (Other)
• Tasimelteon (Other)
• Telotristat (Other)

Additions and updates in November

This month has seen the addition of two new comedications and the updating of three documents in the Prescribing Resources section of the website.

Rolapitant has been added to the Gastrointestinal agents (anti-emetics) class of comedications and telavancin has been added to the Antibacterial comedication class.

New comedications added in September and October

Eleven new comedications have been added in recent months taking the total number of comedications to 1100.

The new additions are:

• Busulfan (Cancer Therapies)
• Copanlisib (Cancer Therapies)
• Elagolix (Other)
• Moexipril (Hypertension / Heart Failure Agents)
• Repotrectinib <...

New comedications added in August

Twelve new comedications have been added to the interaction checker this month.

Activated charcoal, Pentosan polysulfate sodium, Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (Other)
Alprostadil (Erectile Dysfunction Agents)
Bilastine (Antihistamines)
Bimekizumab, Guselkumab (Immunosuppressants)
Daridorexant...

Comedication list now includes trade names

In response to requests from users, we have recently added trade names to the comedications. The ability to search for drugs using their trade name was already an option for COVID therapies, but this feature has now been added for the comedications.

Clicking the 'Trade' option will switch from the default option of A-Z and selecting a trade name will automatically select the generic name...

Recently added new comedications

The following comedications have been added to the interaction checker in recent months:

• Emicizumab (Antihaemorrhagics)
• Epcoritamab (Cancer Therapies)
• Isatuximab (Cancer Therapies)
• Pitolisant (Other)
• Tildrakizumab (Immuno-suppressants)

New comedications added in April

Eight new comedications have been added this month:

Antibacterials: Teicoplanin
Antidepressants: Moclobemide
Illicit/Recreational: Nitazenes, Psilocybin
Other: Tenapanor
Parkinsonism agents: Safinamide
Vitamins/Supplements/Herbals: Grapefruit juice, Valerian

New comedications added in March

Fifteen new comedications have been added to the interaction checker this month. Details are shown below:

Analgesics: Dexketoprofen, Nefopam
Antibacterials: Minocycline
Antimigraine agents: Atogepant
Cancer therapies: Azacitidine, Cedazuridine, Decitabine, Mitomycin
Illicit/Recreational: Trenbolone
Other: Bromocriptine,...

New comedications added in February

Twelve new comedications have been added to the interaction checker this month, including various supplements and several herbal preparations:

• Anxiolytics/Hypnotics/ Sedatives: Midazolam (buccal)
• Gastrointestinal Agents (anti-emetics): Netupitant
• Illicit/Recreational: Enobosarm
• Vitamins/Supplements/Herbals: <...

New comedications added in January

This month we have continued to expand the number of herbal preparations listed in the interaction checker as well as adding a couple of other new comedications.

• Cubeb pepper
• Garlic
• Ginkgo biloba
• Guggulsterone
• Hops
• Liquorice
• Malabar nut tree
• Quercetin

New comedications and new/renamed drug classes

The final updates for this year have been made to the interaction checker.

• Nine new comedications have been added, including 6 herbal preparations (see below)
• The Vitamins/Supplements class has been renamed to Vitamins/Supplements/Herbals, with St John’s wort moving from Antidepressants and Red yeast rice moving from Other to the renamed class.
• A new “Antihaemorr...

New comedications and updated Prescribing Resources

A further seventeen new comedications have been added to the interaction checker:

• Antibacterials: Fosfomycin
• Anti-diabetics: Alogliptin
• Antifungals: Clotrimazole (pessary, troche), Clotrimazole (topical)
• Cancer Therapies: Methotrexate (cancer therapy)
• Lipid Lowering Agents: Bempedoic acid
• Other:

Over 1000 drugs on the interaction checker

We have had a busy few months recently and a significant target has been achieved with the latest new drugs for the comedication list. These new additions take the number of drugs on the comedication list to over 1000! The new drugs and their classes are shown below:

• Anti-depressants: Opipramol
• Anti-diabetics: Tirzepatide
• Antih...

Four highly requested comedications

After adding many new cancer therapies recently, we have returned to the list of requested drugs from the survey we had on the website last year and have added the following drugs.

• Desmopressin
• Indometacin (Indomethacin)
• Isosorbide mononitrate
• Valganciclovir

These four new drugs were highly requested in the survey with each having more than 10 r...

Further new comedications in the Cancer Therapies class

We have completed our current planned expansion of the cancer therapies in the comedication list with seven new drugs being added:

• Eribulin
• Ixazomib
• Lenvatinib
• Niraparib
• Tegafur/ Gimeracil/ Oteracil
• Tivozanib
• Trifluridine/Tipiracil

The work on the cancer therapies during July and August takes the number of drugs in this c...

New COVID-19 Therapy: Vilobelimab

We have added the monoclonal antibody vilobelimab to the Covid-19 Host-directed Therapies class of primary drugs.

In April, the FDA granted an emergency use authorization for the use of vilobelimab (Gohibic®, InflaRx) for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized adults when administered within 48 hours of mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Vilobelimab is a...

New comedications in the Cancer Therapies class

For the next month or so, we will be focussing on expanding the number of cancer therapies in the comedication list.

The first batch of cancer drugs have been added and include:

• Avelumab
• Blinatumomab
• Cetuximab
• Dactinomycin
• Elotuzumab
• Inotuzumab ozogamicin
• Obinutuzumab
• Ofatumumab
• Olaratumab
• Panitumumab

Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) when used for an extended treatment duration (10 days or longer).

A new drug entry has been created for when nirmatrelvir/ritonavir is used off-label for longer than the licenced treatment duration of 5 days. An extended treatment duration of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir may be used in a clinical trial setting or in patients who may be at risk of viral rebound with the standard 5 day treatment (for example, people with underlying medical conditions).

When ni...

Eight highly requested comedications

Our work on the list of requested drugs from the survey we had on the website last year continues with the addition of the following drugs.

• Azelastine (Antihistamines)
• Betahistine, Leuprorelin, Naloxone (Other)
• Butalbital (Analgesics)
• Carbidopa (Parkinsonism agents)
• Eszopiclone (Anxiolytics/Hypnotics/Sedatives)
• Latanoprost (Ophthalmological ag...

Nine new comedications

Nine new comedications have been added to the interaction checker - 3 immuno-suppressants and 6 cancer therapies.

The new immuno-suppressants are abatacept, certolizumab pegol and ixekizumab.
The new cancer therapies are bevacizumab, cabazitaxel, chlorambucil, dacarbazine

New comedications and updates to an existing comedication

Eight new drugs to be added to the comedication list in the interaction checker. The new drugs can be found in the following classes:

Analgesics - Ketoprofen
Cancer therapies- Carboplatin, Docetaxel, Doxorubicin, Gemcitabine, Oxaliplatin
Gastrointestinal Agent...

New gastro-intestinal comedications

Four new comedications have been added to the gastro-intestinal class of comedications on the interaction checker:

• Ispaghula husk
• Psyllium husk
• Mebeverine
• Sucralfate

Two new comedications

Two new comedications have been added to the interaction checker:

• Ibandronic acid (ibandronate) is a bisphosphonate indicated for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis.
• Cinacalcet is a calcium sensing receptor agonist used to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism in chronic kidney disease and hypercalcemia in parathyroid carcinoma.

New immunosuppressants added

Two immunosuppressants have been added to the interaction checker. 
Filgotinib (Jyseleca®) is a JAK inhibitor indicated for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis or ulcerative colitis. 
Risankizumab (Skyrizi®) is indicated for the treatment of plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, with an addition indication for active Crohn’s disease in the ...

Updated Prescribing Resource for administration in cases of swallowing difficulties

New lipid lowering comedications

Two comedications for the treatment of hypertriglyceridaemia have been added to the website. Icosapent ethyl and omega-3 fatty acids can be found in the lipid lowering class.

New Comedications

We are continuing to work through the list of requested drugs from the survey we had on the website last year with 7 more comedications being added to the website:

• Apremilast (Immuno-suppressants)
• Bendamustine (Cancer Therapies)
• Doxylamine (Antihistamines)
• Hyoscine [Scopolamine] (Gastro-intestinal Agents)
• Linaclotide (Gastro-intestinal Agents)

Interactions with Ensitrelvir

Ensitrelvir (Xocova^®) is now included in the list of COVID therapies. Ensitrelvir is an oral antiviral agent developed by Shionogi & Co which obtained emergency regulatory approval from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan in November 2022. Ensitrelvir suppresses the replication of SARS-CoV-2 by selectively inhibiting the viral 3CL protease. It is administered on...

Renamed comedications

The names of some comedications in the interaction checker have been revised with additional spellings and/or names. The changes are shown below and we hope that this will make the search process easier.

• Alendronic acid → Alendronic acid (Alendronate)
• Cannabis → Cannabis (Marijuana)
• Chlortalidone → Chlortalidone (Chlorthalidone)
• Rifampic...

New comedication classes

New comedications for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)

Following the introduction of the new comedication class “Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Therapies”, two new comedications have been added to the class.

• Finasteride (5 mg) is now included as a BPH therapy, but the lower dose (finasteride 1 mg) remains in the other class as this can be used for hair loss or as a starting dose for gender affirmation therapy.

Top five most requested comedications

We have collated a further batch of responses to the survey we had on the website last year which allowed users to request comedications for inclusion on the website. 

In this this batch of responses (from April to August 2022 inclusive), we had ~1600 requests for nearly 400 drugs. We have combined these requests with the remaining drugs from the first set of results and during this...

More comedications

Our comedication list is frequently expanding and currently there are nearly 900 drugs available on the interaction checker. The latest additions to the list are shown below.

• Biperiden (Parkinsonism Agents)
• Filgrastim (Other)
• Pizotifen (Antimigraine Agents)
• Ipilimumab (Cancer Therapies)
• Nivolumab (Cancer Therapies)

Look for alternatives feature added to the website checker

If you use our other websites you may be familiar with the "look for alternatives" feature and we are pleased to announce that this feature is now available on interactions checker on the COVID-19 website.

If your drug search returns an amber or red interaction, clicking the blue "look for alternatives" button will open a table displaying all the drugs in your comedication class, and the...

New drugs added as part of a comedication survey

Last year we had a survey on the website which allowed users to request comedications for inclusion on the website. In the first three months of the survey we had over 1000 requests for over 300 drugs. During 2022 we added drugs representing 77% of all the requests with our focus being on the drugs with the most requests. 

All drugs with 4 or more requests have been added and we are...

Newsletter sign up options

The COVID-19 website has been running for nearly three years and we have decided to introduce a newsletter to help you keep up-to-date with what we are doing. The newsletter will include details of new drugs and prescribing resources added to the website, as well as details of conferences and educational events the team are organising. 

We anticipate sending these newsletters approx...

Five new comedications

In response to recent requests, the following comedications have been added to the interaction checker.

• Cyclophosphamide (Cancer Therapies)
• Paclitaxel (Cancer Therapies)
• Epirubicin (Cancer Therapies)
• Risedronate (Other)
• Benralizumab (Other)