Pasireotide is a newer drug than octreotide? I don’t remember learning this drug in the GIT system block. Is pasireotide going to replace octreotide?
When students first learn about somatostatin analogues, the emphasis is usually on octreotide, a drug used in gastrointestinal (GIT) medicine for conditions such as secretory diarrhoea, carcinoid syndrome, variceal bleeding, and pancreatic fistulae. Octreotide’s role in suppressing endocrine and GI secretions makes it valuable in acute inpatient care.
Pasireotide, however, belongs to a newer generation of somatostatin analogues that were engineered with a very different purpose. Unlike octreotide, which is best at binding SSTR2 and controlling GIT hypersecretion, pasireotide targets multiple receptor subtypes, especially SSTR5, allowing it to treat endocrine disorders that octreotide often cannot. This makes pasireotide central to the modern management of Cushing’s disease and treatment-resistant acromegaly.