The FDA has approved an intranasal gel formulation of testosterone (Natesto – Trimel/Endo) for replacement therapy in men with hypogonadism. Packaged in a metered-dose pump, Natesto is the first intranasal testosterone to become available in the US. Like other testosterone products, it is classified as a schedule III controlled substance. The FDA recently cautioned against using testosterone to treat low testosterone levels solely due to aging because the benefits and safety of such use have not been established, and there is a possible increased risk of myocardial infarction...

Oliceridine (Olinvyk - Trevena), an IV opioid agonist, has been approved by the FDA for management of acute pain severe enough to require an opioid and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.

A 2024-2025 formulation of the Novavax adjuvanted protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine that more closely targets currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants is available now under an FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for use in persons ≥12 years old. The 2024-2025 formulations of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) and Moderna (Spikevax) were licensed by the FDA last month for use in persons ≥12 years old and made available under EUAs for use in persons 6 months to 11 years old.

View the Comparison Table: Some Oral Drugs for Allergic Rhinitis

The FDA has added a boxed warning to fluoroquinolone package inserts about tendon injuries that may occur as a result of their use. Tendinitis or tendon rupture may occur rarely with systemic use of any fluoroquinolone, either while the drug is being taken or for up to several months afterwards.Fluoroquinolone-related tendon injury is rare; estimates for its incidence in the general population range from 0.14% to 0.4%. The risk is higher for patients >60 years old and for those taking corticosteroids. For patients with organ transplants, the incidence may be as high as 15%.1 A case-control...

An article published in the New York Times on May 1, 2015 listed the 10 drugs on which Medicare Part D spent the most in 2013. The most costly ($2.53 billion) was the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium), which has recently become available generically.

The FDA has approved Trijardy XR (Boehringer Ingelheim/Lilly), a fixed-dose combination of the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor empagliflozin, the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor linagliptin, and extended-release metformin, for oral treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults. Empagliflozin and linagliptin have been available in a fixed-dose combination as Glyxambi since 2015, and both have been available in 2-drug combinations with extended-release metformin for years (see Table 1).

The FDA has approved a 0.25% ophthalmic solution of the ectoparasiticide lotilaner (Xdemvy – Tarsus) for treatment of Demodex blepharitis. Lotilaner is the first drug to be approved in the US for this indication.

Bexagliflozin (Brenzavvy – TheracosBio), a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, has been approved by the FDA to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. It is the fifth SGLT2 inhibitor to be approved in the US for this indication (see Table 4).

Aspirin is now widely used for antithrombotic prophylaxis in patients who have had angina pectoris or a myocardial infarction and has also been tried in healthy people to prevent myocardial infarction. Recent studies have focused on increasingly lower doses of the drug. The use of aspirin in patients who have had transient ischemic attacks or strokes will not be discussed here.