Arizona Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics Launches PDA Version of QT-prolonging Drug Lists

Business Wire, Feb 20, 2008

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (Arizona CERT) today announced the launch of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)-viewable version of their widely used database of drugs that prolong the QT interval and carry the risk of inducing serious heart arrhythmias and death. This newly available format will greatly increase the accessibility of important information for patients and their doctors as they make treatment decisions.

The QTdrugs.org website currently lists over 100 drugs in four categories based on relative risk, including a comprehensive list of drugs to be avoided by patients with inherited Long QT syndrome. Drugs on the lists can be sorted by brand or generic name, and a new search function allows mobile users to enter full or partial drug names to search for possible matches in the database. The PDA lists are viewable online at www.QTdrugs.org/m.> "By making the drug lists conveniently viewable on handheld devices, we are enabling both patients and clinicians to quickly view important drug safety information," said Dr. Raymond Woosley, Principal Investigator or the Arizona CERT and CEO of the Critical Path Institute. Arizona CERT also maintains the International Registry of Drug-induced Arrhythmias, designed to investigate the pharmacogenetics of drug-induced long QT syndrome and torsades de pointes ventricular arrhythmias.

About the Critical Path Institute

Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona with offices in Rockville, Maryland, the Critical Path Institute was established in 2005 as a publicly funded, non-profit research and education institute to enable collaborations between scientists from the FDA, industry and academia. The Critical Path Institute's mission is to help implement the FDA's Critical Path Initiative by developing faster, safer and smarter pathways to new medical products. Visit www.C-Path.org for more information.

About Arizona CERT

The Arizona CERT is one of 14 CERTs centers designated and funded by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and is based at the Critical Path Institute in Tucson, Arizona. The mission of the Arizona CERT is to improve therapeutic outcomes and reduce adverse events caused by drug interactions and drugs that prolong the QT interval, especially those affecting women, through research and a broad range of educational programs for medical professionals and consumers.