FIXED-DOSE COMBINATIONS (Part 1)-What is the evidence for their use?- DRUG UPDATE REGIONAL DRUG AND THERAPEUTICS CENTRE

With the increasing use of multi-drug treatments, fixed-dose combination products (FDCs) offer a potential means of reducing the pill burden for patients. The evidence to support the assumption that they improve concordance and outcome, compared with combinations of separate component drugs, is sparse. There is a need for well designed clinical studies to prove their value, otherwise single-component generic drugs remain an equally efficacious and often more cost-effective alternative. In most situations, regimens containing single-component drugs should remain the treatment of choice. What are they? Fixed-dose combination products (FDCs) are medicines which contain two or more drugs in fixed proportions in the same formulation. FDC products are often claimed to make medicine-taking more convenient for patients taking multiple medication with the potential of improving concordance. They are also a means of prolonging the patent life of a product