Indacaterol is an ultra-long-acting beta-adrenoceptor agonist developed by Novartis. It was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) under the trade name Onbrez Breezhaler on November 30, 2009, and by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the trade name Arcapta Neohaler, on July 1, 2011. It needs to be taken only once a day, unlike the related drugs formoterol and salmeterol. It is licensed only for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (long-term data in patients with asthma are thus far lacking). It is delivered as an aerosol formulation through a dry powder inhaler.

Levalbuterol is the (R)-enantiomer of the drug substance racemic albuterol (salbutamol). Binding studies have demonstrated that (R)-albuterol binds to the beta2-adrenergic receptor with a high affinity, whereas (S)-albuterol binds with 100-fold less affinity than (R)-albuterol. Other evaluations have suggested that (R)-albuterol possesses the bronchodilatory, bronchoprotective, and ciliary-stimulatory properties of racemic albuterol, while (S)-albuterol does not contribute beneficially to the therapeutic effects of the racemate and was originally assumed to be inert. Xopenex (levalbuterol HCl) Inhalation Solution is indicated for the treatment or prevention of bronchospasm in adults, adolescents, and children 6 years of age and older with reversible obstructive airway disease.

Levalbuterol is the (R)-enantiomer of the drug substance racemic albuterol (salbutamol). Binding studies have demonstrated that (R)-albuterol binds to the beta2-adrenergic receptor with a high affinity, whereas (S)-albuterol binds with 100-fold less affinity than (R)-albuterol. Other evaluations have suggested that (R)-albuterol possesses the bronchodilatory, bronchoprotective, and ciliary-stimulatory properties of racemic albuterol, while (S)-albuterol does not contribute beneficially to the therapeutic effects of the racemate and was originally assumed to be inert. Xopenex (levalbuterol HCl) Inhalation Solution is indicated for the treatment or prevention of bronchospasm in adults, adolescents, and children 6 years of age and older with reversible obstructive airway disease.

Levalbuterol is the (R)-enantiomer of the drug substance racemic albuterol (salbutamol). Binding studies have demonstrated that (R)-albuterol binds to the beta2-adrenergic receptor with a high affinity, whereas (S)-albuterol binds with 100-fold less affinity than (R)-albuterol. Other evaluations have suggested that (R)-albuterol possesses the bronchodilatory, bronchoprotective, and ciliary-stimulatory properties of racemic albuterol, while (S)-albuterol does not contribute beneficially to the therapeutic effects of the racemate and was originally assumed to be inert. Xopenex (levalbuterol HCl) Inhalation Solution is indicated for the treatment or prevention of bronchospasm in adults, adolescents, and children 6 years of age and older with reversible obstructive airway disease.

Albuterol is a short acting beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist. Albuterol effectively alleviates bronchospasm due to bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, and other chronic bronchopulmonary disorders such as COPD. In vitro studies and in vivo pharmacologic studies have demonstrated that albuterol has a preferential effect on beta2-adrenergic receptors compared with isoproterenol. While it is recognized that beta2-adrenergic receptors are the predominant receptors in bronchial smooth muscle, data indicate that there is a population of beta2-receptors in the human heart existing in a concentration between 10% and 50%. The precise function of these receptors has not been established. The pharmacologic effects of beta-adrenergic agonist drugs, including albuterol, are at least in part attributable to stimulation through beta-adrenergic receptors of intracellular adenyl cyclase, the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to cyclic-3',5'- adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP). Increased cyclic AMP levels are associated with relaxation of bronchial smooth muscle and inhibition of release of mediators of immediate hypersensitivity from cells, especially from mast cells. Albuterol has been shown in most controlled clinical trials to have more effect on the respiratory tract, in the form of bronchial smooth muscle relaxation, than isoproterenol at comparable doses while producing fewer cardiovascular effects. Albuterol is longer acting than isoproterenol in most patients by any route of administration because it is not a substrate for the cellular uptake processes for catecholamines nor for catechol-O-methyl transferase.

Metaproterenol, also known as Orciprenaline, is a brochodilator that is FDA approved for the treatment of bronchial asthma and for reversible bronchospasm which may occur in association with bronchitis and emphysema. Metaproterenol Sulfate is a potent beta-adrenergic stimulator with a rapid onset of action. It is postulated that beta-adrenergic stimulants produce many of their pharmacological effects by activation of adenyl cyclase, the enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of adrenosine triphosphate to cyclic adenosine monosphosphate. Metaproterenol is a moderately selective beta(2)-adrenergic agonist that stimulates receptors of the smooth muscle in the lungs, uterus, and vasculature supplying skeletal muscle, with minimal or no effect on alpha-adrenergic receptors.