Improving the understanding of originator and biosimilar biologics among healthcare providers in Saudi Arabia.

The loss of patentability of many originator biologics has led to the rapid introduction of biosimilar agents. The anticipated economic benefit of introducing such agent has been accompanied by vagueness surrounding their biotechnology, approval requirements, positioning in treatment paradigms and potential for adverse events. The Second Symposium on Biologics and Biosimilars "Beyond Clinical Practice" was held on 24th-26th January 2020 aiming at improving the understanding of these new agents in a diverse interactive conference and to guide stakeholders how to introduce biosimilars into clinical practice. The symposium consisted of 4 tracks and 3 workshops. A total of 217 participants attended the meeting. The majority were pharmacists (78.8%) followed by physicians (18.9%) and other healthcare providers (2.3%). The workshops covered the following topics: basics of pharmacoeconomics, pharmacovigilance and patients' perspective toward biosimilar biologics. While, the 4 main tracks included: Introduction to biosimilars, challenges in clinical practice, regulatory and pharmacoeconomic aspects and Challenges in biosimilar pharmacovigilance.

Nano ubiquinone: Promising candidate for treatment of renal toxicity induced by over dose of paracetamol.

Over doses of Paracetamol (panadol; acetaminophen) can cause life-threatening renal damage. This study compared the impact of nano-ubiquinone (Nubiq) with native ubiquinone (ubiq) reducing damage induced by Paracetamol-toxicity in rats. Paracetamol treatment produced an elevation in serum urea, uric acid, creatinine, C-reactive protein, renal nitric oxide, and lipid peroxide levels, and reductions in interleukin-10, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione levels. Meanwhile, c-Jun N-terminal kinases, vascular cell adhesion protein-1, cyclooxygenase-2 protein, and kidney injury molecule-1 were highly expressed, and NFE2-related factor 2 gene expression was down-regulated. Destruction of the epithelium, necrosis, and inflammatory cell infiltration could be observed in the renal tissue. Treatment with both ubiq an nubiq significantly ameliorated all of these signs. These findings suggest that Nubiq achieved the most significant amelioration in oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers in paracetamol -induced nephrotoxicity.