New Drugs 2020

During 2020, the global pandemic pressured the FDA to focus on treatments, diagnostic tests, and prevention measures for SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19. However, the agency still approved 53 drugs as new molecular entities or new biologics – an increase over the 48 novel drugs approved in 2019.This issue summarizes key information on new, first-in-class medications for cholesterol management and two common skin conditions (acne vulgaris and actinic keratosis); the first drug for peanut allergy; the first oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist for prostate cancer; a new and improved pediculicide and ovicide for head lice; and a new catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor for Parkinson’s disease. A brief summary of 4 new oral therapies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is also included. Usual dosing recommendations and drug interactions are provided in Table 1.Brief descriptions of 14 additional new drugs that may be commonly prescribed are provided in Table 2.

Details

Publication Date: 03/22/2021
Expiration Date: 03/22/2024
CE Credit: 2.0 (0.20 CEU)
Type of Activity: Knowledge-based

This program was developed by The Rx Consultant and published by Continuing Education Network, Inc. The Rx Consultant accepts no advertising or financial support from the pharmaceutical industry and is funded solely by the purchase of programs. The Rx Consultant is dedicated to providing unbiased, balanced information to health care practitioners.

Programs developed by The Rx Consultant are written by health care providers with expertise in the topic area, peer-reviewed, extensively edited, and fact-checked. This development process was created to insure that every program presents information that is current, accurate, relevant to "real world" health care providers, and written in an easy reading, "plain English" style.

Authors

James Chan, PharmD, PhD is an Associate Clinical Professor, School of Pharmacy, University of California,San Francisco, CA.

Disclosure Statement

Dr.Chan reports no financial relationship with the manufacturer(s) or provider(s) of any commercial product(s) or service(s) that appear in this issue.

Target Audience

This accredited program is targeted to pharmacists .

Goals & Objectives

At the conclusion of this program, participants will be able to:

1. For drugs reviewed in detail, provide the FDA approved indication(s), state the recommended dose(s), and discuss the evidence supporting the drug’s approval and its potential role in therapy.
2. For drugs reviewed in detail, describe significant warnings and precautions. Provide 2-3 patient counseling tips for each.
3. For the briefly summarized drugs in Table 2, state the generic/brand names, dosage form(s), FDA approved indication(s), and safety concerns, if discussed.
4. Briefly describe the new, targeted therapies for the treatment of NSCLC (eg, how they work, role in therapy).

Accreditation Statements

The Rx Consultant is a publication of Continuing Education Network, Inc.

Continuing Education Network, Inc. is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.

Continuing Education Network is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 13118. Programs approved by CA BRN are accepted by most State Boards of Nursing.

ACPE Universal Activity Number: 0428-0000-21-003-H01-P

Technical Specifications

Hardware requirements

Any hardware that supports Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS, iOS, or Android, and meets the software requirements.

Software requirements

Browser that supports TLS 1.1 + and PDF files.

This includes Microsoft Internet Explorer 11, Google Chrome 38, Google Android OS 5.0 Browser, Apple Safari (version 7 for desktop, 5 for mobile), Mozilla Firefox 27, newer versions of these browsers, as well as some earlier versions that may require additional configuration.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is recommended, and is required for some browsers.

Note: TLS 1.1 and 1.2 support is required for browser security. Click here for TLS browser support details.

Internet Connectivity

Required. Broadband recommended. (T1, DSL, Cable, G4 or higher.)