Furosemide is a loop diuretic medication used to treat edema due to heart failure, liver scarring, or kidney disease. It had many trade names including Discoid, Frusemide, Lasix and Uremide. Furosemide may also be used for the treatment of high blood pressure. It can be taken intravenously or orally. When given intravenously, furosemide typically takes effect within five minutes; when taken orally, it typically metabolizes within an hour.
Conivaptan, sold under the brand name Vaprisol, is a non-peptide inhibitor of the receptor for anti-diuretic hormone, also called vasopressin. It was approved in 2004 for hyponatremia. The compound was discovered by Astellas and marked in 2006. The drug is now marketed by Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Dobutamine is a medication used in the treatment of cardiogenic shock and severe heart failure. It may also be used in certain types of cardiac stress tests. It is given by IV only, as an injection into a vein or intraosseous as a continuous infusion. The amount of medication needs to be adjusted to the desired effect. Onset of effects is generally seen within 2 minutes. It has a half-life of two minutes. This drug is generally only administered short term, although it may be used for longer periods to relieve symptoms of heart failure in patients awaiting heart transplantation.
Iloprost is a medication used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), scleroderma, Raynaud's phenomenon and other diseases in which the blood vessels are constricted and blood cannot flow to the tissues. This damages the tissues and causes high blood pressure. There is ongoing research into using it as a frostbite treatment. Iloprost works by opening (dilating) the blood vessels to allow the blood to flow through again. It was developed by the pharmaceutical company Schering AG and is marketed by Bayer Schering Pharma AG in Europe and Actelion Pharmaceuticals in the USA. Iloprost is given via inhalation, and a therapeautic benefit of the drug is that a very low dose is required because of the deposition in the lung. Iloprost has few systemic side effects for that reason.
Bisoprolol, sold under the brand name Zebeta among others, is a beta blocker medication used for heart diseases. This includes tachyarrhythmias, high blood pressure, chest pain from not enough blood flow to the heart, and heart failure. It is taken by mouth.
Disopyramide is an antiarrhythmic medication used in the treatment of ventricular tachycardia. It is a sodium channel blocker and is classified as a Class 1a anti-arrhythmic agent. Disopyramide has a negative inotropic effect on the ventricular myocardium, significantly decreasing the contractility. Disopyramide also has an anticholinergic effect on the heart which accounts for many adverse side effects. Disopyramide is available in both oral and intravenous forms, and has a low degree of toxicity.
Fosfestrol, sold under the brand name Honvan and also known as diethylstilbestrol diphosphate (DESDP), is an estrogen medication which is used in the treatment of prostate cancer in men. It is given by slow intravenous infusion once per day to once per week or by mouth once per day.
Amrinone, also known as inamrinone, and sold as Inocor, is a pyridine phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor. It is a drug that may improve the prognosis in patients with congestive heart failure. Amrinone has been shown to increase the contractions initiated in the heart by high-gain calcium induced calcium release (CICR). The positive inotropic effect of amrinone is mediated by the selective enhancement of high-gain CICR, which contributes to the contraction of myocytes by phosphorylation through cAMP dependent protein kinase A (PKA) and Ca2+ calmodulin kinase pathways.
Tolvaptan, sold under the brand name Samsca among others, is an aquaretic drug that functions as a selective, competitive vasopressin receptor 2 (V2) antagonist used to treat hyponatremia (low blood sodium levels) associated with congestive heart failure, cirrhosis, and the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH). Tolvaptan was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 19, 2009, and is sold by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. under the trade name Samsca. Tolvaptan, as Jynarque, was granted approval for medical use in the United States in April 2018.
Muraglitazar is a dual peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonist with affinity to PPARα and PPARγ.
Landiolol (INN) is an ultra short-acting, β1-superselective intravenous adrenergic antagonist, which decreases the heart rate effectively with less negative effect on blood pressure or myocardial contractility. In comparison to other beta blockers, landiolol has the shortest elimination half-life, ultra-rapid onset of effect, and predictable effectiveness with inactive metabolites. The pure S-enantiomer structure of landiolol is believed to develop less hypotensive side effects in comparison to other β-blockers. This has a positive impact on the treatment of patients when reduction of heart rate without decrease in arterial blood pressure is desired. Landiolol was developed by modifying the chemical structure of esmolol to produce a compound with a higher rate of cardioselectivity and a greater potency without increasing its duration of action. It is sold as landiolol hydrochloride. Based on its positive benefit risk profile, landiolol has been granted the marketing authorization and introduced to the European markets under the brand names Rapibloc, Raploc, Runrapiq, Landibloc mid 2016. Landiolol is available in Japan under the brand names Onoact (50 mg) and Corbeta.
Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is a sudden worsening of the signs and symptoms of heart failure, which typically includes difficulty breathing (dyspnea), leg or feet swelling, and fatigue. ADHF is a common and potentially serious cause of acute respiratory distress. The condition is caused by severe congestion of multiple organs by fluid that is inadequately circulated by the failing heart. An attack of decompensation can be caused by underlying medical illness, such as myocardial infarction, an abnormal heart rhythm, infection, or thyroid disease.
Lixivaptan (VPA-985) is an orally-active, non-peptide, selective vasopressin 2 receptor antagonist being developed as an investigational drug by Palladio Biosciences, Inc. (Palladio), a subsidiary of Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc. As of December 2021, lixivaptan is in Phase III clinical development for the treatment of Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), the most common form of polycystic kidney disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to lixivaptan for the treatment of ADPKD.
Tedizolid, is an oxazolidinone-class antibiotic. Tedizolid phosphate is a phosphate ester prodrug of the active compound tedizolid. It was developed by Cubist Pharmaceuticals, following acquisition of Trius Therapeutics, and is marketed for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections.
Cangrelor, sold under the brand name Kengreal among others, is a P2Y12 inhibitor FDA approved as of June 2015 as an antiplatelet drug for intravenous application. Some P2Y12 inhibitors are used clinically as effective inhibitors of adenosine diphosphate-mediated platelet activation and aggregation. Unlike clopidogrel (Plavix), which is a prodrug, cangrelor is an active drug not requiring metabolic conversion.
Varespladib is an inhibitor of the IIa, V, and X isoforms of secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2). The molecule acts as an anti-inflammatory agent by disrupting the first step of the arachidonic acid pathway of inflammation. From 2006 to 2012, varespladib was under active investigation by Anthera Pharmaceuticals as a potential therapy for several inflammatory diseases, including acute coronary syndrome and acute chest syndrome. The trial was halted in March 2012 due to inadequate efficacy. The selective sPLA2 inhibitor varespladib (IC50 value 0.009 μM in chromogenic assay, mole fraction 7.3X10-6) was studied in the VISTA-16 randomized clinical trial (clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01130246) and the results were published in 2014. The sPLA2 inhibition by varespladib in this setting seemed to be potentially harmful, and thus not a useful strategy for reducing adverse cardiovascular outcomes from acute coronary syndrome. Since 2016, scientific research has focused on the use of Varespladib as an inhibitor of snake venom toxins using various types of in vitro and in vivo models. Varespladib showed a significant inhibitory effect to snake venom PLA2 which makes it a potential first-line drug candidate in snakebite envenomation therapy. In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted varespladib orphan drug status for its potential to treat snakebite.
Brexpiprazole, sold under the brand name Rexulti among others, is a medication used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. It is an atypical antipsychotic.
Serelaxin is a medication which is marketed in Russia for the treatment of acute heart failure (AHF), targeting the relaxin receptor. It was also under development in other places in the world, including in the United States, Europe, and Asia, but ultimately was not marketed in these areas.
Decitabine/cedazuridine, sold under the brand name Inqovi among others, is a fixed-dose combination anticancer medication used for the treatment of adults with myelodysplastic syndromes and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). It is a combination of decitabine, a nucleoside metabolic inhibitor, and cedazuridine, a cytidine deaminase inhibitor.
Roberto Ferrari is an Italian cardiologist who currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor at the University of Ferrara, where besides he was the chair of the Cardiology in the School of Medicine until the 2019–2020 academic year.
