Taclonex ointment (Warner Chilcott/LEO Pharma), a combination of the vitamin D3 analog calcipotriene 0.005% (Dovonex) and the high-potency corticosteroid betamethasone dipropionate 0.064%, was recently approved by the FDA for treatment of psoriasis vulgaris in patients ≥ 18 years old.

The US manufacturer of varicella zoster immune globulin (VZIG; Massachusetts Public Health Biologic Laboratories, Boston, MA) recently discontinued its production. A Canadian formulation, VariZIG (Varicella Zoster Immune Globulin [Human] - Cangene Corporation, Winnipeg) is now available in the US under an investigational new drug application expanded access protocol.

Implanon (Organon), an implantable contraceptive containing the progestin etonogestrel, has been approved by the FDA. Two other implantable contraceptives, Norplant and Jadelle, which both contain levonorgestrel, are FDA-approved but not marketed in the US.

Decitabine (Dacogen - MGI Pharma), a pyrimidine nucleoside analog of cytidine, was approved by the FDA as an orphan drug for treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a heterogeneous group of clonal hemopathies that decrease production of normal blood elements (red cells, white cells and platelets) and are associated with a risk of progression to acute leukemia.

The FDA has approved an extended-release formulation of minocycline (Solodyn - Medicis) for once-daily treatment of non-nodular moderate to severe acne.

The FDA has approved Exforge (Novartis) and Azor (Daiichi Sankyo), the first combinations of a calcium channel blocker (CCB) with an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) for treatment of hypertension. Amlodipine is the CCB in both products. The ARBs are valsartan in Exforge and olmesartan in Azor. All 3 of these drugs are available in fixed-dose combinations with other antihypertensive drugs.

Temsirolimus (Torisel - Wyeth), an mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) kinase inhibitor that is metabolized to sirolimus (rapamycin), has been approved by the FDA for intravenous treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Obeticholic acid (Ocaliva – Intercept), a farnesoid X receptor agonist, has been approved by the FDA for treatment of primary biliary cholangitis; it is indicated for use in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid (ursodiol, UDCA; Urso, and others) in adults with an inadequate response to UDCA and as monotherapy in adults unable to tolerate UDCA. Obeticholic acid is the second drug to be approved for this indication; UDCA was the first.

The FDA has approved emicizumab-kxwh (Hemlibra – Genentech), a subcutaneously injected, factor IXa- and X-directed antibody, for routine prophylaxis to prevent or reduce bleeding episodes in patients with hemophilia A. Emicizumab is not recommended for treatment of bleeding.

Opioid use disorder is a chronic, relapsing disease with physical and psychiatric components. It is associated with economic hardship, social isolation, incarceration, increased rates of blood-borne infections such as HIV and viral hepatitis, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and increased mortality. According to the NIH, there were 80,411 deaths involving an opioid in the US in 2021, more than in any previous year. Several guidelines on the management of opioid use disorder are available; all recommend maintenance pharmacotherapy as the standard of care.