Somapacitan: a long-acting growth hormone derivative for treatment of growth hormone deficiency.

Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is characterized by inadequate HG production from the anterior pituitary gland. Adult patients with GHD have increased fat mass, an abnormal lipid profile, decreased lean body mass and bone mineral density, decreased muscle strength and exercise endurance, and a diminished quality of life. Adult GHD (AGHD) has been treated with GH replacement therapy by daily subcutaneous injections. However, the administration of daily injections can be burdensome for some patients and affect treatment adherence. Somapacitan is a new long-acting human GH (hGH) analogue that is administered once a week by subcutaneous injection. It was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as GH replacement therapy for adults with GHD, becoming the first hGH therapy for AGHD administered by once-weekly injection, compared with other approved hGH therapies for AGHD administered by daily injection. This article reviews the pharmacokinetic, clinical and safety data that led to the approval of somapacitan as the first long-acting GH therapy for adults with GHD.

Efficacy of vosoritide in the treatment of achondroplasia.

Achondroplasia is the commonest form of dwarfism and results from a mutation in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene on chromosome 4p16.3. The mutation is at nucleotide 1138 resulting in a G-to-A transition (134934.0001). This condition is characterized by full penetration meaning that everyone with this genetic mutation will exhibit the phenotypic characteristics of achondroplasia. It is a gain-of function mutation that causes increased inhibition of cartilage formation. C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) acts on the growth plate through the natriuretic peptide receptor-B (NPR-B) causing the transformation of guanosine 5'-triphosphate into cyclic guanosine monophosphate. However, CNP cannot be used in the treatment of achondroplasia because it is rapidly degraded by neutral endopeptidase. Vosoritide is a modified recombinant human CNP and has a half-life 10 times that of CNP. Clinical trials have demonstrated that vosoritide is effective in significantly increasing the annualized growth velocity in children with achondroplasia before the fusion of the epiphyses.

Loteprednol etabonate: a formulation for short-term use in inflammatory flares in dry eye disease.

Loteprednol etabonate is a soft corticosteroid that is rapidly deactivated after reaching the general circulation, displaying good local activity and a high therapeutic index without inducing systemic side effects. In 2021, Kala Pharmaceuticals launched Eysuvis (loteprednol etabonate ophthalmic suspension) 0.25% in the U.S. for the short-term (up to 2 weeks) treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. Approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was based on results from one phase II trial and three phase III trials showing Eysuvis significantly improved both the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease and was well tolerated. Eysuvis is a novel loteprednol etabonate nanosuspension formulation developed by Kala using its AMPPLIFY mucus-penetrating particle (MPP) drug delivery technology. Use of this MPP formulation results in enhanced penetration of loteprednol etabonate into target tissue on the ocular surface. Eysuvis is the first FDA-approved ocular corticosteroid indicated for dry eye disease.

Estetrol and drospirenone: a novel oral contraceptive.

Estetrol (E4) is a natural human estrogen produced during human pregnancy in the fetal liver with a unique mechanism of action that displays tissue-selective activity, and behaves as a natural selective estrogen receptor modulator. E4 acts as an estrogen agonist on the vagina, the uterus and the endometrium, and also shows bone-sparing activity. Its mechanism of action results in neutral impact on endocrine, metabolic and hemostatic parameters, compared with other oral contraceptives. In 2021, Health Canada approved the combination 15 mg E4/3 mg drospirenone (DRSP), the first and only combined oral contraceptive based on the native estrogen E4, which has been synthesized from plant-based sources. Shortly afterwards, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) also approved the combination 14.2 mg E4/3 mg DRSP as a female contraceptive.