Betaxolol (Kerlone - Searle), an oral beta-adrenergic blocker, was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for once-daily treatment of hypertension. The new drug is beta 1 (cardio)-selective with no intrinsic sympathomimetic (partial agonist) activity. It is also available in a topical formulation for treatment of glaucoma (Betoptic - Medical Letter, 28:45, 1986). Beta-blockers currently available in the USA for treatment of hypertension are listed in the table below.

Cerivastatin (Baycol - Bayer), a new HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (or "statin"), has been approved by the FDA for treatment of hypercholesterolemia. Cerivastatin is the sodium salt of a synthetic fluorophenyl pyridinyl-substituted heptanoic acid.

Lopinavir/ritonavir is the first fixed-dose combination of protease inhibitors approved by the FDA for the treatment of HIV infection. It is being marketed for use with other drugs in adults and children more than six months old. Lopinavir is a new drug available only in this combination. Ritonavir is often used with other protease inhibitors to raise their plasma concentrations.

The FDA has approved a nebulized suspension of the corticosteroid budesonide for maintenance treatment of persistent asthma in children one to eight years old.

Fondaparinux (Arixtra - Organon Sanofi-Synthelabo), a synthetic analog of heparin, has been approved by the FDA for prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after hip fracture surgery or knee or hip replacement.

Fulvestrant (Faslodex -- AstraZeneca), an estrogen receptor antagonist given intramuscularly (IM) once a month, was recently approved by the FDA for treatment of hormone-receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progession on tamoxifen (Nolvadex, and others) or another antiestrogen.

The FDA has approved azithromycin 1% ophthalmic solution (AzaSite - Inspire) for treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis in patients > 1 year old. It is formulated, according to the manufacturer, in a controlled-release delivery system that keeps the drug in the eye for several hours.

The FDA has approved the selective alpha_1A-adrenergic receptor agonist oxymetazoline as a 1% cream (Rhofade – Allergan) for topical treatment of persistent facial erythema of rosacea in adults. Brimonidine, a selective alpha₂-adrenergic receptor agonist, was approved in 2013 as a 0.33% gel (Mirvaso) for the same indication. Like Mirvaso, Rhofade is not indicated for treatment of inflammatory lesions of rosacea. Oxymetazoline has been available over the counter for many years as a nasal decongestant spray (Afrin, and others).

The FDA has approved the interleukin (IL)-23 blocker guselkumab (Tremfya – Janssen) for treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy. Guselkumab is the first selective IL-23 blocker to become available in the US.

The oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor baricitinib (Olumiant – Lilly), which was previously approved by the FDA for treatment of moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis and treatment of COVID-19 in certain hospitalized adults, has now been approved for treatment of severe alopecia areata in adults. Baricitinib is the first systemic treatment to be approved in the US for this indication.