The FDA has approved Viekira Pak (Abbvie), a fixed-dose combination of two new direct-acting antiviral agents (ombitasvir, paritaprevir) with the pharmacologic enhancer ritonavir in one tablet, co-packaged with a third new direct-acting antiviral agent (dasabuvir) in a second tablet, for oral treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection. Genotype 1 is responsible for 70-80% of HCV infections in the US.

The FDA has approved pitolisant (Wakix – Harmony), a histamine-3 (H₃)-receptor antagonist/inverse agonist, for treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) or cataplexy in adults with narcolepsy. It is the first H₃-receptor antagonist/inverse agonist to become available in the US and the first non-controlled substance to receive FDA approval for these indications. Pitolisant has been available in Europe since 2016.

The FDA has approved Winlevi (Sun), a 1% cream formulation of the androgen receptor inhibitor clascoterone, for treatment of acne vulgaris in patients ≥12 years old. It is the first topical androgen receptor inhibitor to be approved by the FDA.

Alosetron hydrochloride (Lotronex - Glaxo Welcome), a selective serotonin receptor antagonist, has received FDA approval for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in women whose primary bowel symptom is diarrhea.

Clobazam (Onfi – Lundbeck), an oral benzodiazepine, has been approved by the FDA for adjunctive treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) in patients ≥2 years old. It has been available in Canada (Frisium) and other countries for years for treatment of anxiety and many types of epilepsy.

The FDA has approved the oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor avapritinib (Ayvakit – Blueprint Medicines) for treatment of unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) harboring a platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA) D842V or other PDGFRA exon 18 mutation. Avapritinib is the first drug to be approved for this indication in the US.

The Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor pirtobrutinib (Jaypirca – Lilly) has received accelerated approval from the FDA for treatment of relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in adults who received ≥2 prior lines of systemic therapy, including a BTK inhibitor. Accelerated approval was based on the response rate. The BTK inhibitors ibrutinib (Imbruvica), acalabrutinib (Calquence), and zanubrutinib (Brukinsa) are also approved for treatment of MCL.

Mosunetuzumab-axgb (Lunsumio – Genentech), a bispecific CD20-directed CD3 T-cell engager, has received accelerated approval from the FDA for treatment of relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma in adults who received ≥2 lines of systemic therapy. It is the first T-cell-engaging bispecific antibody to be approved in the US for this indication.

The FDA has granted regular approval to dostarlimabgxly (Jemperli – GSK), an immune checkpoint inhibitor, for treatment of adults with mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer that has progressed on or following a prior platinum-containing regimen in any setting and who are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation. Dostarlimab received accelerated approval in 2021 for treatment of adults with dMMR recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer or nonendometrial solid tumors that progressed on or following prior treatment and who have no...

The oral kinase inhibitor futibatinib (Lytgobi – Taiho) has received accelerated approval from the FDA for treatment of adults with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma with fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) fusions or other rearrangements. Accelerated approval was based on the overall response rate and duration of response. Futibatinib is the second drug to be approved for this indication; pemigatinib (Pemazyre) was approved earlier.