QUININE PHOSPHATE, a salt of quinine, was formerly used for the treatment of malaria.

Phloroglucinol is an organic compound that is used in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and explosives. Phloroglucinol is a phenol derivative with antispasmodic properties that is used primarily as a laboratory reagent. The mechanism of action is most likely based on the direct inhibition of the voltage-dependent calcium channels of smooth muscle; however, the modulation of prostaglandin or nitric oxide release has also been suggested. Although it has long been used in clinical practice as an antispasmodic for painful urogenital and gastrointestinal conditions, in an early study on anesthetized rats, phloroglucinol was found to be inactive toward the contraction of the duodenum, ileum and colon. Similarly, in anesthetized dogs, phloroglucinol plus trimethyl-phloroglucinol failed to antagonize acetylcholine-induced contraction of the colon. In parallel with animal studies, phloroglucinol plus trimethyl-phloroglucinol had no clear effects in humans on ascending and sigmoid colon hypermotility evoked by neostigmine. However in Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients iv phloroglucinol effectively reduced postprandial rectosigmoid motility increases after a test meal, compared to placebo. In another study of IBS patients, phloroglucinol inhibited phasic contractions provoked by intrarectally injected glycerol, but it did not modify colonic tone. In an open-label study of 100 IBS patients selected according to the Rome II criteria, po 50 mg phloroglucinol was administered three times daily for two months. The 68 patients who completed the study reported significant improvement in abdominal pain, frequency of stools per day, urgency, passage of mucus per the rectum, sense of incomplete defecation and bloating. Nevertheless, straining was unchanged. Further, a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial examined the effects of phloroglucinol/trimethylphloroglucinol (62.2 mg P plus 80 mg TMP three times daily) or placebo for 7 d in 307 IBS patients diagnosed using the Rome II criteria. The relative decrease in pain intensity and the responder rate were significantly higher in the P/TMP-treated group, compared to the placebo-treated group. Further, the treatment effect persisted up to the 7th day in a higher percentage of patients treated with P/TMP than in those treated with placebo.

Oxantel is a narrow-spectrum anthelmintic effective against whipworms in dogs and cats. It is ineffective against other roundworms, flukes, tapeworms or external parasites. Oxantel acts on the nervous system of the worms as inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase. Oxantel, a cholinergic anthelmintic and fumarate reductase inhibitor, significantly inhibited biofilm formation by P. gingivalis and disrupted established biofilms at concentrations below its MIC against planktonic cells. Oxantel was more effective against P. gingivalis in biofilm than metronidazole, a commonly used antibiotic for periodontitis. When oxantel was administrated to human beings for the treatment of trichuriasis, no drug reaction or side effects were reported, and the results of hematologic, biochemical and urinary examinations didn’t reveal any significant drug-related changes.

Garenoxacin is an antibacterial agent active against a range of aerobic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It exerts its action by inhibiting bacterial DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV. The drug was withdrawn from the market in Europe and was never approved in the USA. Garenoxacin is still marketed in Japan under the name Geninax.

Bekanamycin is an aminoglycoside and is a congener of kanamycin. It is given topically as the sulfate for the treatment of eye infections. It is reported to be more toxic than kanamycin A. Antibiotic complex produced by Streptomyces kanamyceticus Okami & Umezawa from Japanese soil. There are no known interactions with other drugs.

Sitafloxacin hydrate (DU-6859a, Gracevit), a new-generation, broad-spectrum oral fluoroquinolone that is very active against many Gram-positive, Gram-negative and anaerobic clinical isolates, including strains resistant to other fluoroquinolones, was recently approved in Japan for the treatment of respiratory and urinary tract infections. This is a new quinolone oral antibacterial to inhibit DNA replication of bacteria at the time of infection, and shows antibacterial action. Sitafloxacin is active against methicillin-resistant staphylococci, Streptococcus pneumoniae and other streptococci with reduced susceptibility to levofloxacin and other quinolones and enterococci. Sitafloxacin has also demonstrated activity against clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae (including about 67% of strains producing extended-spectrum, beta-lactamases and resistant to ciprofloxacin), Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa with some activity against quinolone-resistant strains and Acinetobacter baumannii. The in vitro activity against anaerobes is comparable to imipenem or metronidazole. Sitafloxacin showed dual inhibitory activity against both enzymes: Streptococcus pneumoniae DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV.

Pixantrone is a novel anthracenedione. It is a weak inhibitor of topoisomerase II. Pixantrone directly alkylates DNA forming stable DNA adducts and cross-strand breaks. Pixuvri is approved for the treatment of adult patients with multiply relapsed or refractory aggressive Non-Hodgkin lymphomas. It is used for patients whose cancer does not respond or has returned after they have received other chemotherapy treatments. The most frequent AE were seen in the blood (mainly neutropaenia), gastrointestinal (nausea, abdominal pain, constipation) and respiratory systems (cough, dyspnea). No drug-drug interaction studies have been submitted and no drug interactions have been reported in human subjects

Pirmenol is an antiarrhythmic agent, which exhibits effects on the fast action potential similar to other class 1 membrane active antiarrhythmic agents. Pirmenol depresses not only the fast Na+ channel, but also others, such as the slow Ca2+ and K+ channels. Pirmenol had sevenfold lower affinity for glandular-type muscarinic receptors (M3) than for cardiac-type muscarinic receptors (M2). This medicine regulates disturbed pulse by acting on the cardiac muscle. Usually, used for treatment of tachyarrhythmia (ventricular). The most commonly reported adverse reactions include constipation, discomfort in stomach, difficulty in urination (urinary retention), headache, insomnia, bitterness in the mouth, nausea, dry mouth and palpitation. Lidocaine, procainamide and quinidine a greater degree of arrhythmia conversion occurred when dosed 15 min after pirmenol than when these agents were dosed alone.

Melperone is an antipsychotic drug which is used in Europe for the treatment of sleep disorders, agitation and confusion states. The exact mechanism of melperone action is unknown.

Pipotiazine (Piportil), also known as Pipothiazine, is a typical antipsychotic of the phenothiazine class used in the United Kingdom and other countries for the treatment of schizophrenia. Its properties are similar to those of chlorpromazine. Piportil® L4 (pipotiazine palmitate) is the palmitic ester of pipotiazine, a piperidine phenothiazine with antipsychotic properties and weak sedative activity. The esterification of pipotiazine is responsible for its prolonged duration of action. The onset of action appears usually within the first 2 to 3 days after injection and the effects of the drug on psychotic symptoms are significant within one week. Improvement in symptomatology lasts from 3 to 6 weeks, but adequate control may frequently be maintained with one injection every 4 weeks. However, in view of the variations in individual response, careful supervision is required throughout treatment. Piportil L4 has actions similar to those of other phenothiazines. Among the different phenothiazine derivatives, Piportil L4 appears to be less sedating and to have a weak propensity for causing hypotension or potentiating the effects of CNS depressants and anesthetics. However, it produces a high incidence of extrapyramidal reactions.