Methenolone (also known as primobolan) was described in 1960. Squibb Company began producing injectable drug in 1962. Methenolone originally was prescribed in case of muscle loss after operations, infections, long-term illnesses, aggressive therapy with corticoids or malnutrition, and in some cases it was used to treat osteoporosis and breast cancer. Methenolone was commonly used to promote weight gain in infants, weighing less than normal, without any side effects. Methenolone is an anabolic steroid, modification of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) with weak androgenic activity and a moderate anabolic effect. A notable trait of methenolone is that it can firmly bind to androgen receptors, stronger than testosterone. Adult doses for the treatment of aplastic anemia are usually in a range of 1–3 mg/kg per day. Adverse side effects include fluid and electrolyte retention, hypercalcaemia, increased bone growth and skeletal weight. In men, additional side priapism, azoospermia, hirsutism, male pattern baldness, acne andoedema. In women, side effects include virilization, amenorrhoea, menstrual irregularities, suppressed lactation, and increased libido. In children, side effects may include virilization symptoms. Metenolone may enhance effects of antidiabetics, ciclosporin, levothyroxine, warfarin. Resistance to the effects of neuromuscular blockers may occur, and metenolone also has the potential to interfere with glucose tolerance and thyroidfunction tests. Metenolone enanthate (methenolone enanthate) is an ester derivative of methenolone sold commonly under the brand names Primobolan (tablet form) orPrimobolan Depot (injectable). When it interacts with the aromatase enzyme it does not form any estrogens. It is used by people who are very susceptible to estrogenic side effects, having lowerestrogenic properties than nandrolone. This trait makes primobolan to be a good fat burner. Primobolan does not convert into estradiol. As an anabolic steroid, the use of metenolone is banned from use in sports governed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Belarusian shot putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk was stripped of her gold medal after testing positive for metenolone at the London 2012 Olympic Games. She has been excluded from future IOC events. The NBA and NBPA also banned the use of methenolone under the Anti-Drug Program. In February 2013, Hedo Türkoğlu of the Orlando Magic was suspended for 20 games without pay by the league after testing positive for methenolone. In December 2013, Natalia Volgina was stripped of her 2013 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon title and received a two-year competition ban, subsequent to a final guilty verdict for using the steroid Metenolone.

Fluprednidene (used in a form of fluprednidene 21-acetate) is a glucocorticoid developed for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. The drug is marketed under the name Decoderm in Europe.

17α-Hydroxyprogesterone (17α-OHP), or hydroxyprogesterone (OHP), also known as 17α-hydroxypregn-4-ene-3, 20-dione is used under the brand name Gestageno, and has been marketed for clinical use in Argentina. It was indicated for female infertility, hypertrichosis, menstrual disorders, premature labour, threatened or recurrent miscarriage. It is used to properly regulate the menstrual cycle and treat unusual stopping of the menstrual periods (amenorrhea). To help a pregnancy occur during egg donor or infertility procedures in women who do not produce enough progesterone. To prevent estrogen from thickening the lining of the uterus (endometrial hyperplasia) in women around menopause who are being treated with estrogen for ovarian hormone therapy (OHT). To treat a condition called endometriosis, to help prevent endometrial hyperplasia, or to treat unusual and heavy bleeding of the uterus (dysfunctional uterine bleeding) by starting or stopping the menstrual cycle. 17α-OHP is an agonist of the progesterone receptor (PR) similarly to progesterone. In addition, it is an antagonist of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) as well as a partial agonist of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), albeit with very low potency (EC50 >100-fold less relative to cortisol) at the latter site, also similarly to progesterone.

Anagestone acetate is a progestin medication, used in the 1960s in combination with the estrogen mestranol as a combined birth control pill. Toxicological study of chronic administration in dogs and monkeys showed the increased risk of developing malignant tumors in the mammary glands and a dose-dependent, nonprogressive decrease in hemoglobin and hematocrits. The drug was voluntarily withdrawn from the market in 1969.

Dexamethasone is an anti-inflammatory agent that is FDA approved for the treatment of many conditions, including rheumatic problems, a number of skin diseases, severe allergies, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, croup, brain swelling and others. Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid agonist. Unbound dexamethasone crosses cell membranes and binds with high affinity to specific cytoplasmic glucocorticoid receptors. Adverse reactions are: Glaucoma with optic nerve damage, visual acuity and field defects; cataract formation; secondary ocular infection following suppression of host response; and perforation of the globe may occur; muscle weakness; osteoporosis and others. Aminoglutethimide may diminish adrenal suppression by corticosteroids. Macrolide antibiotics have been reported to cause a significant decrease in corticosteroid clearance.

Gonadorelin is a synthetic decapeptide prepared using solid phase peptide synthesis. GnRH is responsible for the release of follicle stimulating hormone and leutinizing hormone from the anterior pitutitary. In the pituitary GnRH stimulates synthesis and release of FSH and LH, a process that is controlled by the frequency and amplitude of GnRH pulses, as well as the feedback of androgens and estrogens. The pulsatility of GnRH secretion has been seen in all vertebrates, and it is necessary to ensure a correct reproductive function. Thus a single hormone, GnRH, controls a complex process of follicular growth, ovulation, and corpus luteum maintenance in the female, and spermatogenesis in the male. Its short half life requires infusion pumps for its clinical use. Gonadorelin is used for the treatment of amenorrhea, delayed puberty, and infertility the administration of gonadorelin is used to simulate the physiologic release of GnRH from the hypothalamus in treatment of delayed puberty, treatment of infertility caused by hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, and induction of ovulation in those women with hypothalamic amenorrhea. This results in increased levels of pituitary gonadotropins LH and FSH, which subsequently stimulate the gonads to produce reproductive steroids.

Terlipressin (Glypressin) is indicated for the treatment of bleeding oesophageal varices and in some countries for the treatment of hepatorenal syndrome type 1. It is a prodrug and is converted to the lysine vasopressin in the circulation after the N-triglycyl residue is cleaved by endothelial peptidases. This results in a ‘slow release’ of the vasoactive lysine vasopressin. Terlipressin exerts its action by activating V1a, V1b and V2 vasopressin receptors. On September 14, 2022, the FDA granted approval to terlipressin (Terlivaz) for the treatment of adults hospitalized with hepatorenal syndrome with rapid reduction in kidney function (HRS-1). Prior to the approval, no approved treatment for this condition existed in the United States.

Angiotensin is a peptide hormone that causes vasoconstriction and a subsequent increase in blood pressure. It is part of the renin-angiotensin system, which is a major target for drugs that lower blood pressure. Angiotensin also stimulates the release of aldosterone, another hormone, from the adrenal cortex. Aldosterone promotes sodium retention in the distal nephron, in the kidney, which also drives blood pressure up. Angiotensin is an oligopeptide and is a hormone and a powerful dipsogen. Angiotensin I is derived from the precursor molecule angiotensinogen, a serum globulin produced in the liver. Angiotensin I is converted to angiotensin II (AII) through removal of two C-terminal residues by the enzyme angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), primarily through ACE within the lung (but also present in endothelial cells and kidney epithelial cells). ACE found in other tissues of the body has no physiological role (ACE has a high density in the lung, but activation here promotes no vasoconstriction, angiotensin II is below physiological levels of action). Angiotensin II acts as an endocrine, autocrine/paracrine, and intracrine hormone. Angiotensin II has prothrombotic potential through adhesion and aggregation of platelets and stimulation of PAI-1 and PAI-2. When cardiac cell growth is stimulated, a local (autocrine-paracrine) renin-angiotensin system is activated in the cardiac myocyte, which stimulates cardiac cell growth through protein kinase C. The same system can be activated in smooth muscle cells in conditions of hypertension, atherosclerosis, or endothelial damage. Angiotensin II is the most important Gq stimulator of the heart during hypertrophy, compared to endothelin-1 and α1 adrenoreceptors. Angiotensin II increases thirst sensation (dipsogen) through the subfornical organ of the brain, decreases the response of the baroreceptor reflex, and increases the desire for salt. It increases secretion of ADH in the posterior pituitary and secretion of ACTH in the anterior pituitary. It also potentiates the release of norepinephrine by direct action on postganglionic sympathetic fibers. Angiotensin II acts on the adrenal cortex, causing it to release aldosterone, a hormone that causes the kidneys to retain sodium and lose potassium. Elevated plasma angiotensin II levels are responsible for the elevated aldosterone levels present during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Angiotensin II has a direct effect on the proximal tubules to increase Na+ reabsorption. It has a complex and variable effect on glomerular filtration and renal blood flow depending on the setting. Increases in systemic blood pressure will maintain renal perfusion pressure; however, constriction of the afferent and efferent glomerular arterioles will tend to restrict renal blood flow. The effect on the efferent arteriolar resistance is, however, markedly greater, in part due to its smaller basal diameter; this tends to increase glomerular capillary hydrostatic pressure and maintain glomerular filtration rate. A number of other mechanisms can affect renal blood flow and GFR. High concentrations of Angiotensin II can constrict the glomerular mesangium, reducing the area for glomerular filtration. Angiotensin II is a sensitizer to tubuloglomerular feedback, preventing an excessive rise in GFR. Angiotensin II causes the local release of prostaglandins, which, in turn, antagonize renal vasoconstriction. The net effect of these competing mechanisms on glomerular filtration will vary with the physiological and pharmacological environment. Angiotensin was independently isolated in Indianapolis and Argentina in the late 1930s (as 'angiotonin' and 'hypertensin', respectively) and subsequently characterised and synthesized by groups at the Cleveland Clinic and Ciba laboratories in Basel, Switzerland.

Linaclotide (marketed under the trade name Linzess and Constella) is a peptide agonist of the guanylate cyclase 2C (GC-C). Once linaclotide and its active metabolite binds to GC-C, it has local effect on the luminal surface of the intestinal epithelium. Activation of GC-C by linaclotide results in the intra- and extracellular increase of cyclic guanosine monophosphate concentrations (cGMP). This elevation of cGMP levels stimulates the secretion of chloride and bicarbonate into the intestinal lumen via activation of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) ion channel. The metabolite of linaclotide MM-419447 (CCEYCCNPACTGC) contributes to the pharmacologic effects of linaclotide. Ultimately, linaclotide helps patients with IBS (especially with constipation) as GI transit is accelerated and the release of intestinal fluid is increased. In animal models, a decrease in visceral pain after administration of linaclotide may be observed. A decrease in the activity of pain-sensing nerves occurs as a result of an increase in extracellular cGMP. It was approved by the FDA in August 2012 for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) in adults.

Tesamorelin is an analog of human growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF). The peptide precursor of tesamorelin acetate is produced synthetically and is comprised of the 44 amino acid sequence of human GRF. In vitro, tesamorelin binds and stimulates human GRF receptors with similar potency as the endogenous GRF. GRF, also known as growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), is a hypothalamic peptide that acts on the pituitary somatotroph cells to stimulate the synthesis and pulsatile release of endogenous growth hormone (GH), which is both anabolic and lipolytic. GH exerts its effects by interacting with specific receptors on a variety of target cells, including chondrocytes, osteoblasts, myocytes, hepatocytes, and adipocytes, resulting in a host of pharmacodynamic effects. Some, but not all these effects, are primarily mediated by IGF-1 produced in the liver and in peripheral tissues. Tesamorelin is the first and, so far, only treatment indicated for the reduction of excess abdominal fat in patients with HIV-associated lipodystrophy. Tesamorelin is effective in improving visceral adiposity and body image in patients with HIV-associated lipodystrophy over 26-52 weeks of treatment. Potential limitations for its use include high cost and lack of long-term safety and adherence data. Tesamorelin provides a useful treatment option for management of patients with significant lipodystrophy related to HIV infection.