| Class | Name/Company | Approval Dates and Comments |
| Corticosteroid | Fluocinonide 0.1% Cream Vanos™ Medicis/Patheon | The US FDA approved this Class I corticosteroid in February 2005, for the treatment of plaque-type psoriasis. It is a super high potency cream for once or twice daily application. |
| Antibacterial Agent | Dalvancin Vicuron Pharmaceuticals | The US FDA granted Priority Review status in February 2004, for this investigational agent, a novel once-weekly antibiotic for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections including the most difficult to treat strain of Staphylococcus-methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus. |
| Antipruritic Agent | Epinastine Hydrochloride Alesion® Dry Syrup 1% Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim/Sankyo | Japan’s regulatory authority approved this antiallergy dry syrup in January 2005, for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, urticaria, and pruritus associated with skin diseases such as eczema and dermatitis. It is the first once-daily administrative antiallergy dry syrup for pediatric use in Japan. |
| Antifungal Agent | Griseofulvin Oral Suspension USP Glades Pharmaceuticals | The US FDA approved this systemic antifungal agent in March 2005, for the treatment of tinea barbae, tinea capitis, tinea corporis, tinea pedis, and tinea unguium (onychomycosis). This product is the first and only AB rated generic version of Grifulvin V® (Johnson & Johnson). |
Drug News | ||
| Drug Warning | Eli Lilly and the US FDA notified health care professionals, in January 2005, that there have been reports of medication dispensing or prescribing errors between the antihistamine ZYRTEC® HCl (cetirizine, Pfizer) which is indicated for the treatment of allergic rhinitis or chronic urticaria, and atypical antipsychotic ZYPREXA® (olanzapine, Eli Lilly), indicated for the short-term and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia and for the short-term treatment of acute mixed or manic episodes associated with bipolar I disorder. These reports include instances where ZYRTEC® was incorrectly dispensed for ZYPREXA® and vice versa, leading to unnecessary adverse events or potential relapse in patients suffering from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. They recommend that these products be stored in different locations, that prescribers print both the brand and generic names of medication on all prescriptions, and that healthcare professionals discuss medications, their indications, and their proper use when counseling patients. | |
| Oncology News | Researchers at Stanford University have discovered that a fragment of the collagen VII protein, which normally helps hold the skin intact, is also needed by skin cancer cells as they spread to other regions of the body. Studies were done in mice in vivo and in human skin cells in vitro, and the investigators found that when the subjects/cells were treated with the collagen VII-blocking antibody that the skin cancer failed to spread, though the cancer remained. Furthermore, it appears that the antibody blocks only the cancerspreading aspect of collagen VII. The protein is still able to perform its normal job of keeping the skin intact. Despite this optimism, the lead investigator Paul Khavari, MD, PhD, the Carl J. Herzog Professor in Dermatology at Stanford, cautioned that many further experiments are needed before this work could lead to any cancer treatment. | |
