[Four new drugs on the market: abiraterone, belatacept, vandetanib and fidaxomycine].

Abstract

Among the 35 new molecular entities approved by the FDA in 2011, 17 were particularly notable for their significant contributions to the health of patients, including abiraterone acetate, vandetanib, belatacept and fidaxomicin. Thus, abiraterone acetate, namely Zytiga®, was included as the first in a new class of drugs to treat late-stage prostate cancer. The ability of Zytiga® to prolong survival in these patients was considered as significant because they have few other treatments options and the benefits of Zytiga® outweighed the risks of reported side-effects. Vandetanib, namely Caprelsa®, was also considered as a relevant drug since it represents the first drug approved to treat particularly aggressive medullary thyroid cancer, an orphan disease. Despite huge progress in transplantation, renal transplantation remains a serious problem since patients treated with the calcineurin inhibitors cyclosporine and tacrolimus are at high risk of developing renal injury. With longer follow-up, the novel immunosuppressant belatacept continued to show better renal function compared with a cyclosporine-based regimen, as well as a consistent safety profile and comparable efficacy. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in June 2011 for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in adult recipients of a kidney transplant acting by a selective T-cell costimulation blocker given as an infusion. Clostridium difficile is currently the most important cause of infectious diarrhea in the United States. Fidaxomicin, a macrolide antibiotic, was recently approved for treatment of these infections (CDIs). It could be an alternative treatment for infection with C. difficile, with similar efficacy and safety to vancomycin. Fidaxomicin has minimal activity against Bacteroides species, which may be advantageous in maintaining colonization resistance and protecting the gastrointestinal tract from colonization by C. difficile.

• Authors: C Monneret
• Journal: Annales pharmaceutiques francaises (Ann Pharm Fr) Vol. 71 Issue 2 Pg. 95-103 (Mar 2013) ISSN: 0003-4509 [Print] France
• Vernacular Title: Actualités thérapeutiques: l'abiratérone, le bélatacept, le vandétanib et la fidaxomycine.
• PMID: 23537410 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Chemical References

• Aminoglycosides
• Androstenes
• Androstenols
• Anti-Bacterial Agents
• Antineoplastic Agents
• Enzyme Inhibitors
• Immunoconjugates
• Immunosuppressive Agents
• Piperidines
• Quinazolines
• Abatacept
• abiraterone
• vandetanib
• Fidaxomicin

Topics

• Abatacept
• Aminoglycosides (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Androstenes
• Androstenols (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Anti-Bacterial Agents (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Antineoplastic Agents (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Clostridioides difficile
• Clostridium Infections (drug therapy)
• Enzyme Inhibitors (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Fidaxomicin
• Humans
• Immunoconjugates (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Immunosuppressive Agents (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Male
• Piperidines (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Prostatic Neoplasms (drug therapy)
• Quinazolines (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Thyroid Neoplasms (drug therapy)