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.

View the Expanded Table: Drugs for Prophylaxis of Malaria

View the Comparison Table: H2-Receptor Antagonists and PPIs

The FDA has approved the nitrofuran antiprotozoal drug nifurtimox (Lampit – Bayer) for treatment of Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) in children who weigh ≥2.5 kg. Nifurtimox was previously available in the US only through a CDC-sponsored Investigational New Drug (IND) program.

Vyalev (Abbvie), a solution for continuous subcutaneous infusion containing the prodrugs foscarbidopa and foslevodopa, has been approved by the FDA for treatment of motor fluctuations in adults with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Vyalev is the first subcutaneously administered product to become available in the US for treatment of PD symptoms. Duopa, a carbidopa/levodopa enteral suspension infused via a nasojejunal tube or percutaneous gastrostomy, was approved in for the same indication 2015.

Miudella (Sebela), a copper intrauterine device (IUD), has been approved by the FDA for prevention of pregnancy for up to 3 years. Miudella is the second copper IUD to be approved in the US; ParaGard, which contains more copper and is approved for up to 10 years of use, was approved in 1984. Four hormonal IUDs (Mirena, Liletta, Skyla, Kyleena) that release the progestin levonorgestrel are also available for pregnancy prevention (see Table 2).

Ketoconazole (Nizoral - Janssen), an imidazole antifungal drug widely used in a tablet formulation for treatment of systemic fungal infections (Medical Letter 36:16, 1994) and as a topical preparation for fungal skin infections, is also available as a shampoo for treatment of seborrheic dandruff. The shampoo is sold only by prescription.

Now that US Secretary of Defense has decided to vaccinate more than 2 million memebers of the US armed forces against anthrax, US physicians may be asked to answer some questions about the vaccine and the disease.

The article in the July 14th issue contained an error in the last sentence of the last paragraph beginning on page 55. The instrument's reading is determined not by the degree of protrusion of the tympanic membrane, but rather by its mobility.

Ocriplasmin (Jetrea – ThromboGenics) was recently approved by the FDA as an intravitreal injection for treatment of symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion. It is the first drug to be approved in the US for this indication.