FDA Approves Smoking-Cessation Drug - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today

FDA Approves Smoking-Cessation Drug - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today: "ROCKVILLE, Md., May 11 � The FDA today approved the smoking-cessation drug Chantix (varenicline tartrate), which targets nicotine receptors in the brain.
The approval followed a priority review that the FDA said was necessary because of the drug's 'significant potential benefit to public health.'
The drug, which was developed by Pfizer, effectively occupies nicotine receptors in the brain and produces effects similar to nicotine, while blocking nicotine itself from the receptors. This one-two approach is designed to prevent withdrawal symptoms while it blocking the nicotine high from cigarettes for smokers who relapse. "