Saxagliptin (Onglyza - Bristol-Myers Squibb), the second oral dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor to be marketed in the US, has been approved by the FDA for treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has recently concluded that available evidence is insufficient to assess the balance between potential benefits and harms of using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) to screen men < 75 years old for prostate cancer and has recommended against screening men > 75 years old.

Inhaled drugs for asthma are available in the US mainly in pressurized metered-dose inhalers (MDIs), which require a propellant, and dry powder inhalers, which do not. The chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) propellants in MDIs are being replaced by hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) propellants for environmental reasons: CFCs contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer. December 31, 2008 will be the last day that albuterol MDIs using CFC propellants can be sold in the US. The FDA is expected to announce a termination date for other CFC-containing products in the near future.

Three HFA albuterol inhalers and one HFA levalbuterol inhaler have been approved by the FDA. None is available generically. HFA inhalers require priming — firing 4 puffs into the air (3 with ProAir) — the first time they are used, and after 2 weeks of non-use (3 days with Xopenex HFA).

In general, HFA sprays taste different, are less forceful, and are warmer and mistier than CFC sprays. Some patients may have to be reassured that they are getting enough of their medication, but actually the smaller particles of the HFA sprays may reach the lungs more readily than CFC sprays.

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Antiviral drugs can be used for treatment of patients with influenza and for prophylaxis of influenza exposures that occur before or less than 2 weeks after vaccination. They can also be used to control institutional influenza outbreaks and for prophylaxis in years when circulating strains differ from those included in the vaccine.

The FDA has approved ranibizumab (Lucentis - Genentech) as an intravitreal injection for treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Ranibizumab is a derivative of bevacizumab (Avastin), which is FDA-approved for intravenous treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer and nonsmall cell lung cancer, but has also been used off label for intravitreal treatment of neovascular AMD.