Perampanel (per am’ pa nel; Fycompa – Eisai), a first-in-class noncompetitive AMPA receptor antagonist, has been approved by the FDA for adjunctive treatment of partial-onset seizures in patients ≥12 years old. New drugs for epilepsy are often initially approved by the FDA as adjunctive treatment for partial seizures.

The FDA has approved the subcutaneously injected interleukin (IL)-4 receptor alpha antagonist dupilumab (Dupixent – Sanofi/Regeneron) for add-on maintenance treatment of adults with inadequately controlled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and an eosinophilic phenotype. Dupilumab is the first biologic drug to be approved in the US for this indication. It has been available for years for treatment of asthma, atopic dermatitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, eosinophilic esophagitis, and prurigo nodularis.

The InstaRead Lithium System (ReliaLAB), an office test that only requires a finger stick to measure lithium serum concentrations, has been cleared by the FDA and is now available. Standard methods for measuring lithium serum concentrations require venipuncture and transport of the specimen to commercial laboratories.

The oral cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor ribociclib (Kisqali – Novartis) has been approved by the FDA for use in combination with an aromatase inhibitor for first-line endocrine-based therapy in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Ribociclib is also available copackaged with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole (Femara, and generics) as Kisqali Femara Co-Pack. Ribociclib is the second CDK 4/6 inhibitor to be approved in the US for this indication;...

The FDA has approved a progestin-only oral contraceptive ("minipill") containing drospirenone (Slynd – Exeltis). All other progestin-only oral contraceptives available in the US contain norethindrone (Camila, and others). Progestin-only oral contraceptives are similar in efficacy to combination oral contraceptives. They are used predominantly by breastfeeding women and by those in whom estrogen is poorly tolerated or contraindicated. Combination oral contraceptives containing drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol have been available for years.

Sapropterin (Kuvan - BioMarin) has been approved by the FDA to reduce phenylalanine plasma concentrations in patients with phenylketonuria (PKU). PKU is a rare genetic disorder (it occurs in 1 in 8000 Caucasian and 1 in 50,000 African-American newborns) caused by a deficiency of phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) the resulting high levels of the amino acid in blood and urine lead to cognitive, behavioral and other neurological complications.

Some tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors are being promoted on the internet directly to the public for use in psoriasis (www.yahoo.com).

Linagliptin (Tradjenta – Boehringer Ingelheim/Lilly), a third oral dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) enzyme inhibitor, was recently approved by the FDA for treatment of type 2 diabetes, either alone or in combination with metformin, a sulfonylurea or pioglitazone

Eplerenone (e pler' en one; Inspra - Pharmacia), an aldosterone receptor antagonist similar to spironolactone (Aldactone, and others), has been approved by the FDA, but not yet marketed, for treatment of hypertension. It has also been tried for treatment of heart failure.

The FDA has approved an extended-release (XR) formulation of the benzodiazepine alprazolam (Xanax XR - Pfizer) for treatment of panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia. The new formulation is intended to reduce the need for frequent dosing and problems of interdose anxiety. This review describes the effectiveness of the extended-release formulation, as well as sections on dependence, abuse and withdrawal, adverse effects, and drug interactions. The review concludes with an overall assessment of the drug's efficacy and cost.