Drugs of today
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Omadacycline is a novel aminomethylcycline antimicrobial agent that is available in both oral and intravenous formulations. The distinguishing structural characteristics of omadacycline from other tetracyclines allow for its continued antimicrobial activity in the presence of traditional tetracycline resistance mechanisms (efflux pumps and ribosomal protection proteins). ⋯ Omadacycline seems to be a promising new agent for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. Studies for the treatment of cystitis in adult females are currently underway, and future results of these studies will further help delineate the antibacterial role of omadacycline.
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Review
Axicabtagene ciloleucel for the treatment of relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas are the most common hematological malignancies, which despite improvements in chemo-immunotherapy, carry a uniformly poor prognosis in the relapsed/refractory setting. CD19 is an antigen expressed on the surface of most malignancies arising from the B cells, and adoptive transfer of anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-expressing T cells has been shown to be effective in treating these B-cell malignancies. Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel, KTE-C19) is an autologous anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy which has shown high overall response rates and a manageable safety profile in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies who lack effective and curative treatment options. ⋯ S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, high-grade B-cell lymphoma and DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma, and is also being evaluated in other B-cell malignancies in ongoing clinical trials. In this review we will discuss the mechanism of action of axi-cel, clinical trials leading to its FDA approval, ongoing clinical trials and its potential adverse effects, and will speculate on the future directions of axi-cel and CAR T-cell therapy in general.