First-in-class small molecule drugs in 2022.

2022 is the third year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and its troubles on new drug discovery are gradually apparent. 37 new drugs were approved by the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) last year, down from the peak of 50 new drug approvals in 2021. Notably, first-in-class drugs still occupy a dominant position this year, with a total of 21 drugs. Among them, 7 are first-in-class small molecule drugs. Although the total number of new drug approvals in 2022 sharply decreased, some first-in-class small molecule drugs were regarded as significant, including mitapivat, the first oral activator targeting the pyruvate kinase (PK);mavacamten, the first selective allosteric inhibitor targeting the myocardial beta myosin ATPase;deucravacitinib, the first deuterated allosteric inhibitor targeting the tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2);and lenacapavir, the first long-acting inhibitor targeting the HIV capsid. Generally, the research of first-in-class drugs needs to focus on difficult clinical problems and can treat some specific diseases through novel targets and biological mechanisms. There are tremendous challenges in the research processes of new drugs, including biological mechanism research, target selection, molecular screening, lead compound identification and druggability optimization. Therefore, the success of first-in-class drugs development has prominent guidance significance for new drug discovery. This review briefly describes the discovery background, research and development process and therapeutic application of 3 firstin- class small molecule drugs to provide research ideas and methods for more first-in-class drugs.Copyright © 2023, Chinese Pharmaceutical Association. All rights reserved.

First-in-class small molecule drugs in 2022

2022 is the third year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and its troubles on new drug discovery are gradually apparent. 37 new drugs were approved by the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) last year, down from the peak of 50 new drug approvals in 2021. Notably, first-in-class drugs still occupy a dominant position this year, with a total of 21 drugs. Among them, 7 are first-in-class small molecule drugs. Although the total number of new drug approvals in 2022 sharply decreased, some first-in-class small molecule drugs were regarded as significant, including mitapivat, the first oral activator targeting the pyruvate kinase (PK);mavacamten, the first selective allosteric inhibitor targeting the myocardial beta myosin ATPase;deucravacitinib, the first deuterated allosteric inhibitor targeting the tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2);and lenacapavir, the first long-acting inhibitor targeting the HIV capsid. Generally, the research of first-in-class drugs needs to focus on difficult clinical problems and can treat some specific diseases through novel targets and biological mechanisms. There are tremendous challenges in the research processes of new drugs, including biological mechanism research, target selection, molecular screening, lead compound identification and druggability optimization. Therefore, the success of first-in-class drugs development has prominent guidance significance for new drug discovery. This review briefly describes the discovery background, research and development process and therapeutic application of 3 firstin- class small molecule drugs to provide research ideas and methods for more first-in-class drugs.Copyright © 2023, Chinese Pharmaceutical Association. All rights reserved.

A year in pharmacology: new drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2022.

While new drug approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had remained stable or even increased in the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 37 newly approved drugs in 2022 are considerably less than the 53 and 50 new drugs approved in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and less than the rolling 10-year average of 43. As in previous years of this annual review, we assign these new drugs to one of three levels of innovation: first drug against a condition ("first-in-indication"), first drug using a novel molecular mechanism ("first-in-class"), and "next-in-class," i.e., a drug using an already exploited molecular mechanism. We identify two "first-in-indication" (ganaxolon and teplizumab), 20 (54%) "first-in-class," and 17 (46%) "next-in-class" drugs. By treatment area, rare diseases and cancer drugs were once again the most prevalent (partly overlapping) therapeutic areas. Other continuing trends were the use of accelerated regulatory approval pathways and the reliance on biopharmaceuticals (biologics).

First-in-class small molecule drugs in 2021

The success of new drug discovery in 2021 can be affirmative, although the whole world is still suffering from COVID-19 pandemic. 50 new drugs were approved by the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) last year. Among them, 27 were defined as first-in-class drugs, accounting for the highest number in the past decade. Notably, small molecule drugs still occupy a dominant position in first-in-class drugs with 15 drugs approved. Some of them were regarded as milestones for the drug discovery including sotorasib, a first small molecular covalent inhibitor targeting the "undruggable" target of the KRAS G12C;asciminib, a first small molecular allosteric inhibitor targeting the allosteric pocket of BCR-ABL1;belzutifan, a first small molecular inhibitor to inhibit HIF-2α;and vericiguat, a first small molecular sGC agonist for the treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF). First-in-class drugs rely on the discovery of novel targets and biological mechanisms, thus requiring different drug design approaches and being important guidance. In this review, we expect to provide research ideas and methods for more first-in-class drugs based on the research background, development process and therapeutic application of 3 first-in-class small molecule drugs in 2021. © 2022, Chinese Pharmaceutical Association. All rights reserved.

A year in pharmacology: new drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2021.

The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic had no adverse effect on the number of new drug approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Quite the contrary, with a total of 50 new drugs, 2021 belongs to the most successful FDA years. We assign these new drugs to one of three levels of innovation: (1) first drug against a condition ("first-in-indication"), (2) first drug using a novel molecular mechanism ("first-in-class"), and (3) "next-in-class", i.e., a drug using an already exploited molecular mechanism. We identify 21 first-in-class, 28 next-in-class, and only one first-in-indication drugs. By treatment area, the largest group is once again cancer drugs, many of which target specific genetic alterations. Every second drug approved in 2021 targets an orphan disease, half of them being cancers. Small molecules continue to dominate new drug approvals, followed by antibodies and non-antibody biopharmaceuticals. In 2021, the FDA continued to approve drugs without strong evidence of clinical effects, best exemplified by the aducanumab controversy.

A year in pharmacology: new drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2020.

While the COVID-19 pandemic also affected the work of regulatory authorities, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a total of 53 new drugs in 2020, one of the highest numbers in the past decades. Most newly approved drugs related to oncology (34%) and neurology (15%). We discuss these new drugs by level of innovation they provide, i.e., first to treat a condition, first using a novel mechanisms of action, and "others." Six drugs were first in indication, 15 first using a novel mechanism of action, and 32 other. This includes many drugs for the treatment of orphan indications and some for the treatment of tropical diseases previously neglected for commercial reasons. Small molecules continue to dominate new drug approvals, followed by antibodies. Of note, newly approved drugs also included small-interfering RNAs and antisense oligonucleotides. These data show that the trend for declines in drug discovery and development has clearly been broken.

The year's new drugs and biologics 2020.

2020 will go down in history as a year marked in every respect by the emergence and astonishingly rapid spread of the first major global viral pandemic in a century. It seems like nearly every event or story of the year was influenced in some way by COVID-19, and in that respect, the year ended on a high note with the authorization for emergency use of the first vaccines to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and drugs to treat COVID-19. Despite the pandemic's dominance of the 2020 headlines, productivity was at a record high level across all therapeutic areas, as seen by the number of products in this year's review: approximately 50% more than the previous year. Notable achievements include the launch of the first treatment for hepatitis D; regulatory decisions on a suite of biologics for the prevention and treatment of Ebola virus disease, fruit of the 2016-2018 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo; the approval of the first-ever drug to treat Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that leads to premature aging; the first treatment developed specifically for thyroid eye disease, also known as Graves' ophthalmopathy; the first nonhormonal, on-demand, vaginal pH-regulating contraceptive; and the first oral allergen immunotherapy for peanut allergy.