Lurasidone is a novel antipsychotic agent approved for the treatment of schizophrenia in a number of countries including the UK and is also approved in the USA and Canada for the treatment of bipolar depression as either a monotherapy or adjunctive therapy with lithium or valproate. In addition, lurasidone is in phase III of a clinical trial for the treatment patient with major depressive disorder and for the treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder. The mechanism of action of lurasidone, as with other drugs having efficacy in schizophrenia, is unknown but is known, that lurasidone has a high affinity for dopamine D2, serotonin 5-HT2A and serotonin 5-HT7 receptors where it has antagonist effects. In addition, lurasidone is a partial agonist at the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor and has no appreciable affinity for histamine or muscarinic receptors.

Zonisamide is an antiseizure drug chemically classified as a sulfonamide and unrelated to other antiseizure agents. The precise mechanism by which zonisamide exerts its antiseizure effect is unknown, although it is believed that the drug blocks sodium and calcium channels, which leads to the suppression of neuronal hypersynchronization (i.e. convulsions). Sonisamide has also been found to potentiate dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmission but does not appear to potentiate syanptic activity by GABA (gamma amino butyric acid). Zonisamide binds to sodium channels and voltage sensitive calcium channels, which suppresses neuronal depolarization and hypersynchronization. Zonisamide also inhibits carbonic anhydrase to a weaker extent, but such an effect is not thought to contribute substantially to the drug's anticonvulsant activity. Zonisamide is approved in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia for adjunctive treatment of partial seizures in adults and in Japan for both adjunctive and monotherapy for partial seizures (simple, complex, secondarily generalized), generalized (tonic, tonic-clonic (grand mal), and atypical absence) and combined seizures.

Meropenem (generic name: meropenem hydrate) is a carbapenem antibiotic for injection showing a strong antibacterial activity to a wide range of bacteria strains from Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria to anaerobic bacteria. It is used as single agent therapy for the treatment of the following infections: complicated skin and skin structure infections due to Staphylococcus aureus (b-lactamase and non-b-lactamase producing, methicillin-susceptible isolates only), Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae, viridans group streptococci. This drug also used in case of Intra-abdominal Infections for the treatment complicated appendicitis and peritonitis caused by viridans group streptococci, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacteroides fragilis, B. thetaiotaomicron, and Peptostreptococcus species. In addition is used the treatment of bacterial meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae (b-lactamase and non-b-lactamase-producing isolates), and Neisseria meningitides. The bactericidal activity of meropenem results from the inhibition of cell wall synthesis. Meropenem readily penetrates the cell wall of most Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria to reach penicillin-binding-protein (PBP) targets. Its strongest affinities are toward PBPs 2, 3 and 4 of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa; and PBPs 1, 2 and 4 of Staphylococcus aureus. Meropenem has significant stability to hydrolysis by β-lactamases, both penicillinases and cephalosporinases produced by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Meropenem should not be used to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE). Meropenem product with such superior effectiveness and safety has been approved for marketing by 100 countries or more in the world (as of March 2004) since its first launch in Italy in 1994.

Pimilprost (SM-10902) and its free acid, SM-10906 are new stable 3-oxa-methano prostaglandin (PG) I1 analogs, SM-10902 is a prodrug of SM-10906. SM-10906, but not SM-10902 was demonstrated to be an agonist for IP receptors. SM-10906 was shown to exert its anti-platelet and vasodilatory activities through the increase of the cAMP level. Pimilprost was being developed by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma (formerly Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals) in Japan for the treatment of skin ulcers. In Japan, an NDA was filed for pimilprost and was awaiting registration. However, development appears to have been discontinued.

Ranirestat (AS-3201, SX-3030, SX-3202) is an oral aldose reductase inhibitor. (-)-enantiomer (AS-3201) is 10 times more potent in inhibition of the aldose reductase and 500 times more potent in the in vivo activity than the corresponding (+)-enantiomer (SX-3202). Ranirestat is being developed by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma (formerly Dainippon Pharmaceutical) for the treatment of diabetic complications, primarily diabetic neuropathy. Ranirestat is a well-tolerated front-line inhibitor. It reproducibly exhibits some degree of measurable objective beneficial outcomes in diabetic neuropathy.

Rimacalib (SMP 114) is a prostaglandin E2 antagonist that has been evaluated for use in rheumatoid arthritis. This orally bioavailable compound is a CaMKII inhibitor developed for human use. A phase II clinical trial to compare the effects of rimacalib to placebo in patients with rheumatoid arthritis has been terminated in 2009. Rimacalib also reduces SR Ca2+ leak and was therefore suggested as a candidate drug to treat proarrhythmogenic events in human atrial cardiomyocytes and cardiomyocytes from patients with heart failure.

Emapunil acts as a selective agonist at the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (TSPO). At the cellular level, the selective TSPO ligand XBD173 potentiated the amplitude and duration of GABA-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents in mouse medial prefrontal cortical neurons, which was prevented by finasteride. In animal and human trials, XBD173 produced rapid anxiolytic and anti-panic effects probably via newly synthesized neurosteroids, without producing sedation or withdrawal symptoms, and may represent a promising target for the development of fast-acting anxiolytics with a more favourable side-effect profile than benzodiazepines.

Afacifenacin is being developed by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma (formerly Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma) and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals as an orally administered therapy for overactive bladder and nocturia. Afacifenacin is a new antimuscarinic that possesses the dual pharmacological actions of non-selective muscarinic receptor antagonist and inhibition of the bladder afferent pathway through sodium-channel blockade. Afacifenacin is in Phase II clinical tirals for the treatment of Nocturia by Nippon Shinyaku.

Sparfloxacin is a synthetic fluoroquinolone broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent in the same class as ofloxacin and norfloxacin. Sparfloxacin has in vitro activity against a wide range of gram-negative and gram-positive microorganisms. Sparfloxacin exerts its antibacterial activity by inhibiting DNA gyrase, a bacterial topoisomerase. DNA gyrase is an essential enzyme which controls DNA topology and assists in DNA replication, repair, deactivation, and transcription. Quinolones differ in chemical structure and mode of action from (beta)-lactam antibiotics. Quinolones may, therefore, be active against bacteria resistant to (beta)-lactam antibiotics. Although cross-resistance has been observed between sparfloxacin and other fluoroquinolones, some microorganisms resistant to other fluoroquinolones may be susceptible to sparfloxacin. In vitro tests show that the combination of sparfloxacin and rifampin is antagonistic against Staphylococcus aureus. The bactericidal action of sparfloxacin results from inhibition of the enzymes topoisomerase II (DNA gyrase) and topoisomerase IV, which are required for bacterial DNA replication, transcription, repair, and recombination. Sparfloxacin is used for the treatment of adults with the following infections caused by susceptible strains microorganisms: community-acquired pneumonia (caused by Chlamydia pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, or Streptococcus pneumoniae) and acute bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (caused by Chlamydia pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Haemophilus influenzae, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis,Staphylococcus aureus, or Streptococcus pneumoniae). Sparfloxacin has trade names Spacin in Bangladesh, Zagam and Zagam Respipac. Zagam is no longer available in the United States.

Miriplatin is a novel lipophilic platinum complex that was developed to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Miriplatin hydrate was approved by Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency of Japan (PMDA) on Oct 16, 2009. It was developed and marketed as Miripla® by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma on Jan 20, 2010 in Japan. Miriplatin hydrate is a lipophilic platinum complex that has high affinity to lipiodol. It is indicated for the treatment of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma. Miripla® is available as lyophilized powder for arterial injection, containing 70 mg of free Miriplatin. The recommended dose is 70 mg once daily.