View Expanded Table: Some Drugs for Management of Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms

The FDA has approved an intracameral implant containing the prostaglandin analog bimatoprost (Durysta – Allergan) for reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Bimatoprost is also available in 0.01% (Lumigan) and 0.03% (generics) ophthalmic solutions for the same indication and in a 0.03% solution (Latisse, and generics) for eyelash enhancement. Durysta is the first ocular implant to become available in the US for treatment of glaucoma.

The FDA has approved the oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor ripretinib (Qinlock – Deciphera) for treatment of adults with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) who have previously received treatment with ≥3 kinase inhibitors, including imatinib (Gleevec, and generics).

The oral second-generation antipsychotic drug lumateperone (Caplyta – Intra-Cellular Therapies), which was approved by the FDA in 2020 for treatment of schizophrenia, is now approved for use as monotherapy or as an adjunct to lithium or valproate for treatment of depressive episodes associated with bipolar I or II disorder in adults.

The FDA has approved Vowst (Seres Therapeutics/Nestle HealthScience), an oral capsule containing live fecal microbiota spores, for prevention of additional recurrences of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in adults. Vowst is the first orally administered microbiota-based treatment to be approved for this indication. A rectally-administered live fecal microbiota-based suspension (Rebyota) was approved in 2022 for the same indication. Neither product is approved for acute treatment of CDI.

The FDA has approved Mavyret (Abbvie) and Vosevi (Gilead), two new fixed-dose combinations of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) drugs, for treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection caused by any of the six major HCV genotypes in patients without cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis. Both are approved for use in treatment-experienced patients. Mavyret is also approved for treatment-naive patients.

Primary hypothyroidism is usually the result of Hashimoto's (autoimmune) thyroiditis, thyroidectomy, or radioactive iodine therapy. Treatment of hypothyroidism with replacement doses of thyroid hormone is usually lifelong. Levothyroxine (LT4; synthetic thyroxine; Synthroid, and others) is the drug of choice.1

View the Table: Some Drugs for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

In the short time since fluoxetine (Prozac - Lilly) first became available in the USA (Medical Letter, 30:45, 1988), it has become the most frequently prescribed of all antidepressants. Some recent reports, however, have questioned its safety.

Nabumetone (Relafen - SmithKline Beecham), a new nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. The drug has been available in the United Kingdom since 1987. The manufacturer claims that nabumetone is as effective as other NSAIDs and causes a relatively low incidence of peptic ulcers.