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.

Tiotropium is a long–acting, antimuscarinic agent, which is often referred to as an anticholinergic. It has similar affinity to the subtypes of muscarinic receptors, M1 to M5. In the airways, it exhibits pharmacological effects through inhibition of M3–receptors at the smooth muscle leading to bronchodilation. The competitive and reversible nature of antagonism was shown with human and animal origin receptors and isolated organ preparations. In preclinical in vitro as well as in vivo studies prevention of methacholine–induced bronchoconstriction effects were dose–dependent and lasted longer than 24 hours. The bronchodilation following inhalation of tiotropium is predominantly a site–specific effect. Tiotropium is a muscarinic receptor antagonist, often referred to as an antimuscarinic or anticholinergic agent. Although it does not display selectivity for specific muscarinic receptors, on topical application it acts mainly on M3 muscarinic receptors located in the airways to produce smooth muscle relaxation, thus producing a bronchodilatory effect. Tiotropium is used in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Tiotropium bromide capsules for inhalation are co-promoted by Boehringer-Ingelheim and Pfizer under the trade name Spiriva. It is also manufactured and marketed by Cipla under trade name Tiova.

Cinacalcet is a positive allosteric modulator of calcium sensing receptor. The drug is approved by FDA (Sensipar trade name) and used for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in adult patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis; hypercalcemia in adult patients with parathyroid carcinoma; hypercalcemia in adult patients with primary hyperparathyroidism who are unable to undergo parathyroidectomy.

Aprepitant (brand name: Emend (the brand name used in all English-speaking countries an antiemetic, is a substance P/neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor antagonist which, in combination with other antiemetic agents, is indicated for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy. Aprepitant has little or no affinity for serotonin (5-HT3), dopamine, and corticosteroid receptors, the targets of existing therapies for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Aprepitant has been shown to inhibit emesis induced by cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents, such as cisplatin, via central actions. Animal and human Positron Emission Tomography (PET) studies with aprepitant have shown that it crosses the blood brain barrier and occupies brain NK1 receptors.

Treprostinil (marketed under the trade names Remodulin for infusion) is a vasodilator that is used for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease in which blood pressure is abnormally high in the arteries between the heart and lungs. PAH is characterized by symptoms of shortness of breath during physical exertion. The condition can ultimately lead to heart failure. Treprostinil is a potent oral antiplatelet agent. The major pharmacologic actions of treprostinil are direct vasodilation of pulmonary and systemic arterial vascular beds and inhibition of platelet aggregation. In animals, the vasodilatory effects reduce right and left ventricular afterload and increase cardiac output and stroke volume. Other studies have shown that treprostinil causes a dose-related negative inotropic and lusitropic effect. No major effects on cardiac conduction have been observed. Treprostinil had high affinity for the Prostaglandin D2 receptor (DP1), Prostaglandin E2 receptor EP2 subtype (EP2) and Prostaglandin D2 receptor (IP) receptors (Ki 4.4, 3.6 and 32 nM, respectively), low affinity for EP1 and EP4 receptors and even lower affinity for EP3, Prostaglandin F (FP) and thromboxane (TP) receptors. Treprostinil has demonstrated a unique effect on PPAR gamma, a transcription factor important in vascular pathogenesis as a mediator of proliferation, inflammation and apoptosis. Through a complementary, yet cyclic AMP-independent pathway, treprostinil activates PPARs, another mechanism that contributes to the anti-growth benefits of the prostacyclin class.

Eplerenone, an aldosterone receptor antagonist similar to spironolactone, has been shown to produce sustained increases in plasma renin and serum aldosterone, consistent with inhibition of the negative regulatory feedback of aldosterone on renin secretion. The resulting increased plasma renin activity and aldosterone circulating levels do not overcome the effects of eplerenone. Eplerenone selectively binds to recombinant human mineralocorticoid receptors relative to its binding to recombinant human glucocorticoid, progesterone and androgen receptors. Eplerenone binds to the mineralocorticoid receptor and thereby blocks the binding of aldosterone (component of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system, or RAAS). Aldosterone synthesis, which occurs primarily in the adrenal gland, is modulated by multiple factors, including angiotensin II and non-RAAS mediators such as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and potassium. Aldosterone binds to mineralocorticoid receptors in both epithelial (e.g., kidney) and nonepithelial (e.g., heart, blood vessels, and brain) tissues and increases blood pressure through induction of sodium reabsorption and possibly other mechanisms. Used for improvement of survival of stable patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (ejection fraction <40%) and clinical evidence of congestive heart failure after an acute myocardial infarction.

Voriconazole (vor-i-KON-a-zole, brand name Vfend, Pfizer) is a triazole antifungal medication. VFEND® (voriconazole) is available as film-coated tablets for oral administration, and as a lyophilized powder for solution for intravenous infusion. Voriconazole is a triazole antifungal agent indicated for use in the treatment of fungal infections including invasive aspergillosis, esophageal candidiasis, and serious fungal infections caused by Scedosporium apiospermum (asexual form of Pseudallescheria boydii) and Fusarium spp. including Fusarium solani. Fungal plasma membranes are similar to mammalian plasma membranes, differing in having the nonpolar sterol ergosterol, rather than cholesterol, as the principal sterol. Membrane sterols such as ergosterol provide structure, modulation of membrane fluidity, and possibly control of some physiologic events. Voriconazole effects the formation of the fungal plasma membrane by indirectly inhibiting the biosynthesis of ergosterol. This results in plasma membrane permeability changes and inhibition of growth. The primary mode of action of voriconazole is the inhibition of fungal cytochrome P-450-mediated 14 alpha-lanosterol demethylation, an essential step in fungal ergosterol biosynthesis. The accumulation of 14 alpha-methyl sterols correlates with the subsequent loss of ergosterol in the fungal cell wall and may be responsible for the antifungal activity of voriconazole. Voriconazole has been shown to be more selective for fungal cytochrome P-450 enzymes than for various mammalian cytochrome P-450 enzyme systems. The most common side effects associated with voriconazole include transient visual disturbances, fever, rash, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, headache, sepsis, peripheral edema, abdominal pain, and respiratory disorder. Unlike most adverse effects, which are similar to other azole antifungal agents, visual disturbances (such as blurred vision or increased sensitivity to light) are unique to voriconazole. Though rare, there have been cases of serious hepatic reactions during treatment with voriconazole (a class effect of azole antifungal agents). Liver function tests should be evaluated at the start of and during the course of therapy. Voriconazole is phototoxic. It has been associated with an increased risk of squamous-cell carcinoma of the skin

Fulvestrant is a drug treatment of hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer in post-menopausal women with disease progression following anti-estrogen therapy. It is an estrogen receptor antagonist with no agonist effects, which works both by down-regulating and by degrading the estrogen receptor. Fulvestrant competitively and reversibly binds to estrogen receptors present in cancer cells and achieves its anti-estrogen effects through two separate mechanisms. First, fulvestrant binds to the receptors and downregulates them so that estrogen is no longer able to bind to these receptors. Second, fulvestrant degrades the estrogen receptors to which it is bound. Both of these mechanisms inhibit the growth of tamoxifen-resistant as well as estrogen-sensitive human breast cancer cell lines. Fulvestrant is used for the treatment of hormone receptor positive metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following anti-estrogen therapy. Fulvestrant is marketed under the trade name Faslodex, by AstraZeneca.

Nitisinone, 2-(2-nitro-4-trifluoromethylbenzoyl)-1,3-cyclohexanedione (NTBC) is a triketone with herbicidal activity. Orfadin® capsules contain nitisinone used in the treatment of hereditary tyrosinemia type 1 (HT-1). Nitisinone is a competitive inhibitor of 4-hydroxyphenyl-pyruvate dioxygenase, an enzyme upstream of fumarylacetoacetase in the tyrosine catabolic pathway. By inhibiting the normal catabolism of tyrosine in patients with HT-1, nitisinone prevents the accumulation of the catabolic intermediates maleylacetoacetate and fumarylacetoacetate. In patients with HT-1, these catabolic intermediates are converted to the toxic metabolites succinylacetone and succinylacetoacetate, which are responsible for the observed liver and kidney toxicity. Succinylacetone can also inhibit the porphyrin synthesis pathway leading to the accumulation of 5-aminolevulinate, a neurotoxin responsible for the porphyric crises characteristic of HT-1. Zeneca Agrochemicals and Zeneca Pharmaceuticals made NTBC available for clinical use and, with the approval of the Swedish Medical Products Agency, a seriously ill child with an acute form of tyrosinaemia type 1 was successfully treated in February 1991. Nitisinone is investigated as a potential treatment for other disorders of tyrosine metabolism including alkaptonuria.

Dutasteride is a synthetic 4-azasteroid compound that is a selective inhibitor of both the type 1 and type 2 isoforms of steroid 5 alpha-reductase (5AR), intracellular enzymes that convert testosterone to 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Type I 5a-reductase is predominant in the sebaceous glands of most regions of skin, including scalp, and liver. Type I 5a-reductase is responsible for approximately one-third of circulating DHT. The Type II 5a-reductase isozyme is primarily found in prostate, seminal vesicles, epididymides, and hair follicles as well as liver, and is responsible for two-thirds of circulating DHT. Dutasteride inhibits the conversion of testosterone to 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is the androgen primarily responsible for the initial development and subsequent enlargement of the prostate gland. Testosterone is converted to DHT by the enzyme 5 alpha-reductase, which exists as 2 isoforms, type 1 and type 2. Dutasteride is a competitive and specific inhibitor of both type 1 and type 2 5 alpha-reductase isoenzymes, with which it forms a stable enzyme complex. Dissociation from this complex has been evaluated under in vitro and in vivo conditions and is extremely slow. Used for the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men with an enlarged prostate gland to improve symptoms, and reduce the risk of acute urinary retention and the need for surgery. Marketed under the brand name Avodart.