Pharmacy Daily | S8 Xanax has reduced AEs

RESTRICTING access to Xanax (alprazolam) by rescheduling it to S8 has had a significant impact on overall use of the medication in Australia, as well as resulting in fewer adverse events. The TGA shifted alprazolam from Schedule 4 to Schedule 8 (PD 22 Jan 2014), with the move also prompting Pfizer to cease marketing the branded version of Xanax in Australia because it was no longer commercially viable. Researchers from the University of NSW have found prescriptions for the medication declined 22% in the year since the rescheduling, with the results of their study published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal this week. Dispensing of alprazolam fell 24%, and the study also found the rescheduling had cut the number of alprazolam related calls to the Poisons Information Centre by 50%. The authors recommended further research on how the rescheduling has affected private alprazolam prescriptions, which are not captured by PBS data.

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