Cabazitaxel (Jevtana; sanofi-aventis) received US approval last year. It is the first drug to improve survival in patients with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer who have progressive disease after docetaxel-based treatment. Steve Williamson describes the evidence for the safety and efficacy of this drug.

Certolizumab pegol (Cimzia; UCB Pharma) is a tumour necrosis factor inhibitor that is licensed for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis. Pritesh Bodalia, Michael Scott and Anthony Grosso describe the evidence for its use.

Necrotising enterocolitis is the most common gastrointestinal emergency in neonates. In this article, Afia Manaf and Antonino Morabito describe how this poorly-understood condition is managed.

Plasma clozapine concentrations can be affected by many factors, and inappropriate dosing can exacerbate a number of side effects, some of which can be serious. Robert Flanagan describes a number of circumstances in which therapeutic drug monitoring of clozapine can be useful.

By Sian Williams, Sarah Jones and Karen Hodson

Educating GPs about revised antibiotic prescribing guidelines was among the initiatives that potentially led to a reduction in the prescribing of ‘high risk’ antibiotics at Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly PCT. By Georgina Thomas and Michael Wilcock.

A number of changes are upon us as we move into 2011, but how can the pharmacy profession and its recently restructured professional body ensure that pharmacy is influential in these changing times, asks Philip Brown.