Monkeypox disease (MPX) is currently considered a global threat after COVID-19. European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved Tecovirimat in capsule dosage form (200 mg) as the first treatment for MPX in January 2022. This article highlights Tecovirimat’s development and patent literature review and is believed to benefit the scientists working on developing MPX treatments. The literature for Tecovirimat was gathered from the website of SIGA Technologies (developer of Tecovirimat), regulatory agencies (EMA, United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), and Health Canada), PubMed, and freely accessible clinical/patent databases. Tecovirimat was first recognized as an anti-orthopoxvirus molecule in 2002 and developed by SIGA Technologies. The USFDA and Health Canada have also recently approved Tecovirimat to treat smallpox in 2018 and 2021, respectively. The efficacy of Tecovirimat was verified in infected non-human primates (monkeys) and rabbits under the USFDA’s Animal Rule. Most clinical studies have been done on Tecovirimat’s safety and pharmacokinetic parameters. The patent literature has revealed inventions related to the capsule, injection, suspension, crystalline forms, amorphous form, and drug combinations (Tecovirimat + cidofovir) and process for preparing Tecovirimat. The authors foresee the off-label use of Tecovirimat in the USA and Canada for MPX and other orthopoxvirus infections. The authors also trust that there is immense scope for developing new Tecovirimat-based treatments (new drug combinations with other antivirals) for orthopoxvirus and other viral diseases. Drug interaction studies and drug resistance studies on Tecovirimat are also recommended. Tecovirimat is believed to handle the current MPX outbreak and is a new hope of biosecurity against smallpox or orthopoxvirus-related bioterrorism attack.

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Acne is the most prevalent skin disorder affecting primarily adolescents and young adults. Side effects of acne, such as scarring, dyspigmentation, and low self-esteem, can cause severe morbidity. Isotretinoin is a medication that is used to treat severe acne. The medicine was licensed by the Food and Drug Administration in 1982 to treat severe nodular acne that had been resistant to other treatments, including systemic antibiotics. Other indications of isotretinoin include moderate acne, cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, neuroblastoma, and the prevention of squamous cell carcinoma in high-risk patients. Rosacea, folliculitis, and pyoderma faciale have all been treated with isotretinoin. Some side effects are also associated with the use of isotretinoin including teratogenicity the most severe one. The purpose of this research is to review the available information about indication, contraindication, complication and monitoring of Isotretinoin. Various dermatological conditions are also treated with isotretinoin apart from the common indication of acne. Complete blood count along with the lipid profile, and liver function test are monitored in patients on isotretinoin therapy. Dry lips and dry skin are among the common side effects of isotretinoin. Due to the severe complication of teratogenicity isotretinoin is contraindicated among pregnant women. Evidence from the literature suggests that isotretinoin is the effective medication in treatment of acne and low dose of isotretinoin does not cause any complication. Evidence-based guidelines and strategies for safety and efficacy of isotretinoin can be developed by further clinical research and trials.

Chemotherapy has been the predominant treatment modality for cancer patients, but its overall performance is still modest. Difficulty in penetration of tumor tissues, a toxic profile in high doses, multidrug resistance in an array of tumor types, and the differential architecture of tumor cells as they grow are some of the bottlenecks associated with the clinical usage of chemotherapeutics. Recent advances in tumor biology understanding and the emergence of novel targeted drug delivery tools leveraging various nanosystems offer hope for developing effective cancer treatments. Topotecan is a topoisomerase I inhibitor that stabilizes the transient TOPO I-DNA cleavable complex, leading to single-stranded breaks in DNA. Due to its novel mechanism of action, TOPO is reported to be active against various carcinomas, namely small cell lung cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. Issues of cross-resistance with numerous drugs, rapid conversion to its inactive form in biological systems, appended adverse effects, and higher water solubility limit its therapeutic efficacy in clinical settings. Topotecan nanoformulations offer several benefits for enhancing the therapeutic action of this significant class of chemotherapeutics. The likelihood that the target cancer cells will be exposed to the chemotherapeutic drug while in the drug-sensitive s-phase is increased due to the slow and sustained release of the chemotherapeutic, which could provide for a sustained duration of exposure of the target cancer cells to the bioavailable drug and result in the desired therapeutic outcome. This article explores nanoenabled active and passive targeting strategies and combinatorial therapy employing topotecan to ameliorate various cancers, along with a glimpse of the clinical studies utilizing the said molecule.