PharmChallenge #2

REverse COnceptual Product Engineering (RECOPE)

PharmChallenge #2:

Increase Medication Adherence by Reducing Side Effects

Low medication adherence is common among patients taking oral drugs; an estimated half of all patients are nonadherent to a medication regimen across multiple chronic disease areas. This low medication adherence is problematic because it is associated with poorer prognosis for many common conditions.

Endocrine therapies such as tamoxifen has been shown to reduce the 5-year reoccurrence rate of breast cancer by 40%. However, evidence suggests that side effects may contribute to a patients decision to not initiate therapy, or prematurely discontinue use.

A link to the full paper can be found at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25905855