Nalfurafine, an opioid κ-selective agonist, has been officially approved for resistant pruritus in HD patients on the basis of a well-evidenced clinical trial in Japan. Nalfurafine hydrochloride is a potent and selective agonist for mouse, rat, guinea pig, and human κ-opioid receptors without significant activity on µ- and δ-opioid receptors. Nalfurafine hydrochloride (2.5 and 5 ug/day) has been proven to be safe and effective for the treatment of HD patients with uremic pruritus resistant to antihistamines.

Perhexiline, 2-(2,2-dicyclohexylethyl)piperidine, is an anti-anginal drug. Perhexiline reduces fatty acid metabolism through the inhibition of carnitine palmitoyltransferase, the enzyme responsible for mitochondrial uptake of long-chain fatty acids. Perhexiline is used for reducing the frequency of moderate to severe attacks of angina pectoris due to coronary artery disease in patients who have not responded to other conventional therapy or in whom such therapy may be contraindicated. Heart Metabolics Limited is developing perhexiline for the treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

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

Benserazide is a peripherally-acting aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) or DOPA decarboxylase inhibitor. Benserazide is only used in conjunction with L-dopa for the treatment of Parkinson's disease under the brand name Madopar in the UK. Madopar HBS (125 mg) is a controlled-release dosage form with 100 mg L-dopa and 25 mg benserazide.

Scientists at Parke-Davis first synthesized Pramiracetam (brand name Pramistar) in the late 1970’s. It was first tested with Alzheimer’s patients. Seeing mixed results, the company tried it with major depressive disorder and licensed it as an orphan drug to Menarini. Pramiracetam is a central nervous system stimulant and nootropic agent belonging to the racetam family of drugs. Pramistar is used for the treatment of concentration and memory disturbances caused by the degeneration of brain cells or to diseases of the blood vessels supplying the brain, conditions that arise both in elderly patients (aged over 65 years). By stimulating choline uptake, pramiracetam indirectly modulates the release of acetylcholine and stimulates increased activity in the hippocampus. Because this part of the brain is absolutely crucial to the memory function, the general stimulation that pramiracetam creates can improve both the formation of new memories and the retention of reference or long-term memories. The increased activity in the hippocampus also increases cerebral blood flow, which enhances alertness and improves cognitive abilities in general. Pramiracetam may have other mechanisms of action as well. Researchers have hypothesized that in addition to its action in the brain, pramiracetam acts outside the brain in peripheral sites that rely on the adrenal glands. Animal studies suggest that pramiracetam may also increase or restore brain membrane fluidity, which facilitates cell signaling. Unlike many other racetam class nootropics, pramiracetam does not appear to strongly alter either wakefulness or emotional states. This can be explained by pramiracetam’s very limited influence on the production and release of serotonin, GABA and dopamine, the neurotransmitters that have the greatest effect on mood and anxiety levels.

Stibogluconic acid (Sodium stibogluconate) is the pentavalent antimonial compound used to treat leishmaniasis and is only available for administration by injection. Sodium stibogluconate is sold in the UK as Pentostam (manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline). Sodium stibogluconate was granted orphan drug designation for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis by the US FDA in January 2007. It is available in the United States only through the Centers for Disease Control. Sodium stibogluconate is indicated for the treatment of various types of a protozoal infection called leishmaniasis, which may result from sandfly bites in tropical and temperate parts of the world. It is also investigated for use/treatment in cancer. The mode of action of sodium stibogluconate is not clearly understood. In vitro exposure of amastigotes to 500 mg pentavalent antimony/ml results in a greater than 50% decrease in parasite DNA, RNA protein and purine nucleoside triphosphate levels. It has been postulated that the reduction in ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and GTP (guanosine triphosphate) synthesis contributes to decreased macromolecular synthesis. Sodium stibogluconate was shown to specifically inhibit type I DNA topoisomerase from Leishmania donovani through the inhibition of the unwinding and cleavage of the supercoiled plasmid pBR322, and to stabilize topoisomerase and DNA covalent complexes but not calf-thymus topoisomerase I and Escherichia coli DNA gyrase. Sodium stibogluconate is also a potent inhibitor of PTPases Src homology PTPase1 (SHP-1), SHP-2, and PTP1B but not the dual-specificity phosphatase mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1. Sodium stibogluconate combined with IFN-alpha-2b (IFN-α) inhibited solid tumor cell line growth in vitro, in vivo it was well tolerated and augmented cellular immune parameters.

Benzydamine (benzydamine hydrochloride, PHARIXIA®) is a benzyl-indazole having analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory effects. It is indicated for the relief of pain in acute sore throat and for the symptomatic relief of oro-pharyngeal mucositis caused by radiation therapy.

Ambroxol, a substituted benzylamine, is an active metabolite of bromhexine, which is itself a synthetic derivative of vasicine, the active principle extracted from the plant species Adhatoda vasica. Ambroxol is an expectorant exerting mucokinetic properties, mucociliary activity, stimulation of surfactant production, anti-inflammatory and antioxidative actions and the local anaesthetic effect. Ambroxol was discovered at and has been manufactured by Dr. Karl Thomae GmbH, a division of Boehringer Ingelheim. The ambroxol patent is expired and the drug is available as a generic product from many different companies. Ambroxol was originally developed by Boehringer Ingelheim as a OTC therapy for respiratory disorders related to excessive mucus. Ambroxol's indication is secretolytic therapy in acute and chronic bronchopulmonary diseases associated with abnormal mucus secretion and impaired mucus transport. Boehringer Ingelheim markets the product under various brand names such as Mucosolvan® and Lasolvan®. Ambroxol was identified and found to be a pH-dependent, mixed-type inhibitor of glucocerebrosidase (GCase). Its inhibitory activity was maximal at neutral pH, found in the endoplasmic reticulum, and undetectable at the acidic pH of lysosomes. The pH dependence of Ambroxol to bind and stabilize the enzyme was confirmed. Ambroxol increases both the lysosomal fraction and the enzymatic activity of several mutant GCase variants. This profile of Ambroxol would allow to bind and stabilize GCase in the endoplasmic reticulum (thus preventing its degradation within endoplasmic reticulum), but without affecting GCase in the lysosomes (thus allowing it to degrade glucosylceramide). Indeed, studies showed that Ambroxol treatment significantly increased N370S and F213I mutant GCase activity and protein levels in fibroblasts originally obtained from Gaucher patients. Gaucher's disease is caused by the deficiency of glucocerebrosidase; ambroxol is a chaperone that acts by binding to and stabilising glucocerebrosidase. Zywie (formerly ExSAR Corporation) and Belrose Pharma are developing ambroxol hydrochloride (BEL 0218) for the treatment of type III Gaucher's disease. .

Moxisylyte, also known as thymoxamine, is a drug used in urology for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, also was studied, that this drug may be useful to treat ocular disorders such as diabetic retinopathy. It is an alpha1-adrenergic antagonist. Was developed for self-injection therapy in France and marketed in several European countries as Icavex. In the spring 2005 the manufacturer of Icavex decided to withdraw this drug from Europe market, presumable due to its low market shares.

Bisantrene was classed as an anthracycline chemotherapeutic agent. It inhibits replication, kills tumor cells in clonogenic assays, and intercalates with DNA, where it inhibits both DNA and RNA synthesis. Bisantrene preferentially binds to A-T rich regions of DNA, where it effects changes to supercoiling and initiates strand breaks in association with DNA-associated proteins. This results from the inhibition of the enzyme topoisomerase II, which relaxes DNA coiling during replication and transcription. Toxicity studies in dogs and monkeys revealed that leukopenia, anorexia, diarrhea injection site necrosis, enterocolitis, muscle degeneration, and pulmonary edema were observed with high doses. Bisantrene was found to have less associated cardiotoxicity than other anthracenes. The existing data for bisantrene clearly demonstrated activity in acute myeloid leukemia, and in other indications including lymphoma, refractory breast cancer, and ovarian cancer.