Tipranavir (PNU-140690, trade mark APTIVUS) is a potent, orally bioavailable nonpeptidic HIV protease inhibitor of the 5,6-dihydro-4-hydroxy-2-pyrone sulfonamide class. Tipranavir has potent in vitro activity against a variety of HIV-1 laboratory strains and clinical isolates, including those resistant to ritonavir, as well as HIV-2. The drug is launched in several countries, including the US and in the EU. APTIVUS, co-administered with ritonavir, is indicated for combination antiretroviral treatment of HIV-1 infected patients who are treatment-experienced and infected with HIV-1 strains resistant to more than one protease inhibitor.

Lenalidomide (trade name Revlimid) is a derivative of thalidomide introduced in 2004. It is an immunomodulatory agent with anti-angiogenic properties. Revlimid in combination with dexamethasone is indicated for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who have received at least one prior therapy. Also is indicated for the treatment of patients with transfusion-dependent anemia due to low- or intermediate-1-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) associated with a deletion 5q cytogenetic abnormality with or without additional cytogenetic abnormalities. In addition, Revlimid is indicated for the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) whose disease has relapsed or progressed after two prior therapies, one of which included bortezomib. The mechanism of action of lenalidomide remains to be fully characterized. Lenalidomide inhibited the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increased the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Lenalidomide causes a delay in tumor growth in some in vivo nonclinical hematopoietic tumor models including multiple myeloma. Immunomodulatory properties of lenalidomide include activation of T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, increased numbers of NKT cells, and inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., TNF-α and IL-6) by monocytes. In multiple myeloma cells, the combination of lenalidomide and dexamethasone synergizes the inhibition of cell proliferation and the induction of apoptosis. Recently was discovered, that protein cereblon (CRBN) is a proximate, therapeutically important molecular target of lenalidomide. Low CRBN expression was found to correlate with drug resistance in multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines and primary MM cells. One of the downstream targets of CRBN identified is interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4), which is critical for myeloma cell survival and is down-regulated by (immune-modulatory drugs) treatment. CRBN is also implicated in several effects of immunomodulatory drugs, such as down-regulation of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and T cell immunomodulatory activity, demonstrating that the pleotropic actions of the immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) are initiated by binding to CRBN. Future dissection of CRBN downstream signaling will help to delineate the underlying mechanisms for IMiD action and eventually lead to development of new drugs with more specific anti-myeloma activities. It may also provide a biomarker to predict IMiD response and resistance. Lenalidomide also inhibited the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) but not COX-1 in vitro.

Amfenac (AHR 5850) is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory compound possessing antipyretic and analgesic properties. It is an inhibitor of cyclooxygenases. Amfenac sodium has been on the Japanese market since 1986 (as FENAZOX®, Meiji) in an oral dosage form (50 mg, four-times-daily) indicated for the treatment of pain and inflammation associated with rheumatoid and osteoarthritis and low back pain, as well as the treatment of pain and inflammation following surgery, injury or tooth extraction. Amfenac is an active moiety of nepafenac (amfenac amide), the prodrug has very weak cyclooxygenase inhibitory activity whereas amfenac exhibits more potent cyclooxygenase activity. Nepafenac at a concentration of 0.1% (NEVANAC) was approved for marketing in the US in 2005. Nepafenac is also approved for marketing in the European Union(EU) and Japan as well as over 60 other countries for the treatment of postoperative pain and inflammation associated with cataract surgery.

Arranon is a nucleoside metabolic inhibitor indicated for the treatment of patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. It is a purine nucleoside analog converted to its corresponding arabinosylguanine nucleotide triphosphate (araGTP), resulting in inhibition of DNA synthesis and cytotoxicity. Administration of nelarabine in combination with adenosine deaminase inhibitors, such 195 as pentostatin, is not recommended. The most common (≥20%) adverse reactions were: anemia, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, fatigue, pyrexia, cough, and dyspnea

BARACLUDE® is the tradename for entecavir, a guanosine nucleoside analogue with selective activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV). It inhibits all three steps in the viral replication process. By competing with the natural substrate deoxyguanosine triphosphate, entecavir functionally inhibits all three activities of the HBV polymerase (reverse transcriptase, rt): (1) base priming, (2) reverse transcription of the negative strand from the pregenomic messenger RNA, and (3) synthesis of the positive strand of HBV DNA. Upon activation by kinases, the drug can be incorporated into the DNA which has the ultimate effect of inhibiting the HBV polymerase activity. Entecavir is used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in adults with evidence of active viral replication and either evidence of persistent elevations in serum aminotransferases (ALT or AST) or histologically active disease.

Acamprosate was the third medication, after disulfiram and naltrexone, to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for postwithdrawal maintenance of alcohol abstinence. The French pharmaceutical company Laboratoires Meram began clinical development and testing of acamprosate in 1982. From 1982 to 1988, acamprosate was tested for safety and for efficacy as a treatment for alcohol dependence. Based on these studies, in 1989 Laboratoires Meram was granted marketing authorization for acamprosate in France under the trade name Aotal®. Since then, acamprosate has been extensively used and studied throughout Europe and, subsequently, in the United States. Although acamprosate has been used in Europe for more than 20 years, it was not approved by FDA until July 2004. Acamprosate became available for use in the United States in January 2005, under the trade name Campral® Delayed-Release Tablets (Merck Santé, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany). Campral is currently marketed in the United States by Forest Pharmaceuticals. The mechanism of action of acamprosate in maintenance of alcohol abstinence is not completely understood. Chronic alcohol exposure is hypothesized to alter the normal balance between neuronal excitation and inhibition. in vitro and in vivo studies in animals have provided evidence to suggest acamprosate may interact with glutamate and GABA neurotransmitter systems centrally, and has led to the hypothesis that acamprosate restores this balance. It seems to inhibit NMDA receptors while activating GABA receptors.

Azacitidine (Vidaza; Pharmion), an inhibitor of DNA methylation, was approved by the US FDA for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes in May 2004. It is the first drug to be approved by the FDA for treating this rare family of bone-marrow disorders, and has been given orphan-drug status. It is also a pioneering example of an agent that targets 'epigenetic' gene silencing, a mechanism that is exploited by cancer cells to inhibit the expression of genes that counteract the malignant phenotype. VIDAZA is used for the treatment of patients with the following FAB myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) subtypes: Refractory anemia (RA) or refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts (RARS), refractory anemia with excess blasts (RAEB), refractory anemia with excess blasts in transformation (RAEB-T), and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMMoL). Azacitidine is a pyrimidine nucleoside analog of cytidine. It is believed to exert its antineoplastic effects by causing hypomethylation of DNA and direct cytotoxicity on abnormal hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow. The concentration of azacitidine required for maximum inhibition of DNA methylation in vitro does not cause major suppression of DNA synthesis. Hypomethylation may restore normal function to genes that are critical for differentiation and proliferation. As azacitidine is a ribonucleoside, it incorporates into RNA to a larger extent than into DNA. The incorporation into RNA leads to the dissemble of polyribosomes, defective methylation and acceptor function of transfer RNA, and inhibition of the production of protein. Its incorporation into DNA leads to a covalent binding with DNA methyltransferases, which prevents DNA synthesis and subsequent cytotoxicity. The cytotoxic effects of azacitidine cause the death of rapidly dividing cells, including cancer cells that are no longer responsive to normal growth control mechanisms. Non-proliferating cells are relatively insensitive to azacitidine.

Iloprost is a second generation structural analog of prostacyclin (PGI) with about ten-fold greater potency than the first generation stable analogs, such as carbaprostacyclin. Iloprost binds with equal affinity to human prostacyclin (Prostanoid IP) and prostaglandin EP1 receptors. Iloprost constricts the ilium and fundus circular smooth muscle as strongly as prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) itself. Iloprost inhibits the ADP, thrombin, and collagen-induced aggregation of human platelets. In whole animals, iloprost acts as a vasodilator, hypotensive, antidiuretic, and prolongs bleeding time. All of these properties help to antagonize the pathological changes that take place in the small pulmonary arteries of patients with pulmonary hypertension. Used for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Trospium is an antispasmodic, antimuscarinic agent indicated for the treatment of overactive bladder with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency. Receptor assays showed that trospium has negligible affinity for nicotinic receptors as compared to muscarinic receptors at concentrations obtained from therapeutic doses. Trospium antagonizes the effect of acetylcholine on muscarinic receptors in cholinergically innervated organs. Its parasympatholytic action reduces the tonus of smooth muscle in the bladder. Trospium is marketed under the brand name Sancturain the US, Tropez OD in India,Trosec in Canada, Regurin and Flotros in the United Kingdom and Spasmex in Germany, Russia, Turkey, Argentina, Chile and Israel.

Solifenacin is a competitive muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist. The binding of acetylcholine to these receptors, particularly the M3 receptor subtype, plays a critical role in the contraction of smooth muscle. By preventing the binding of acetylcholine to these receptors, solifenacin reduces smooth muscle tone in the bladder, allowing the bladder to retain larger volumes of urine. It is FDA approved for the treatment of overactive bladder with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency. Common adverse reactions include constipation, Xerostomia. Inhibitors of CYP3A4 may increase the concentration of Solifenacin. Vice versa, CYP3A4 Inducers decrease concentration.