Over the past year, the UAE has approved many new medicines and new uses for existing treatments, covering conditions from obesity and heart disease to cancer, dry eyes and vitiligo.
From a pill instead of a weight-loss injection to a nasal spray instead of an adrenaline shot during a severe allergic reaction, several drugs were approved in the UAE, placing the country among the first in the world to authorise the treatments.
But for patients, the bigger question is simpler: What actually changes for them?
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Khaleej Times looks at 10 major drug approval developments reported over the past year and what they could mean for patients.
1. Foundayo: A weight-loss pill instead of injections
Foundayo, or orforglipron, is a once-daily pill for chronic weight management. It can be prescribed to adults with obesity and some overweight patients who also have related health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
For patients uncomfortable with injections, it provides another option. Doctors previously told Khaleej Times, however, that it is not a quick fix. Patients still need diet and exercise, while treatment could be long-term for some people.
2. Oral Wegovy: More choice for obesity treatment
The UAE also became the second country globally to approve oral Wegovy, or semaglutide.
The daily pill provides a needle-free option for eligible patients with obesity or overweight with related health conditions. It is meant to be used alongside healthier eating and physical activity. The treatment has also been shown to reduce the risk of major heart-related events in certain high-risk patients.
3. Lipfendra: Cholesterol treatment as a pill
Lipfendra gives doctors another option for patients whose LDL, or bad cholesterol, remains too high despite existing treatment.
Dr Hesham Tayel, consultant cardiologist and specialist interventional cardiologist at International Modern Hospital Dubai, said it could particularly help high-risk patients and some people with inherited high cholesterol.
The big difference is convenience. Treatments targeting the same protein, PCSK9, have largely been injections. Lipfendra is a once-daily pill. It will not, however, replace commonly prescribed cholesterol medicines for most patients.
4. Baxfendy: For blood pressure
Baxfendy is aimed at a difficult group patients whose blood pressure remains high despite existing treatment.
Rather than replacing their regular blood-pressure medicines, it gives doctors another treatment that can be added when existing options are not enough. The UAE became the first country in the world to approve the treatment.
5. Inpefa: For heart failure
Inpefa, or sotagliflozin, is an oral treatment for heart failure. The UAE became the second country globally to authorise it.
For patients, it provides doctors with another way to reduce complications linked to heart failure and serious cardiovascular problems, while the treatment may also have benefits for kidney health and blood sugar control.
6. EURneffy: Adrenaline without the needle
One of the easiest changes for patients to understand is EURneffy.
The nasal spray delivers epinephrine, or adrenaline, during severe allergic reactions. Instead of having to inject the medicine, eligible adults and children can receive it through the nose.
7. Miebo: For dry eyes
Miebo is a prescription eye drop for dry-eye disease, but instead of simply adding moisture, it targets excessive tear evaporation.
That gives doctors another option for patients suffering symptoms such as burning, irritation, blurred vision and discomfort, particularly when tear evaporation is driving the condition.
8. Etcamah: For breast cancers
Etcamah is not for every breast cancer patient. It is aimed at certain patients with advanced or metastatic breast cancer whose cancer develops a genetic change known as an ESR1 mutation while they are receiving hormone treatment.
For those patients, it provides another targeted option when the cancer begins resisting existing hormone therapy.
9. Itvisma: Gene therapy for SMA
Itvisma is a one-time gene therapy for eligible patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic disease that causes progressive muscle weakness.
Rather than only treating symptoms, the therapy targets the underlying genetic cause of the disease. For eligible patients, that could reduce the need for repeated treatments.
10. RINVOQ: Pill for vitiligo patients
The UAE became the first country globally to approve RINVOQ, or upadacitinib, for non-segmental vitiligo.
The medicine itself already existed; what is new is its approval for vitiligo. The once-daily pill provides a treatment that works throughout the body, giving eligible patients another option, particularly when treating individual skin patches may not be enough.
Approval also does not automatically mean a medicine will be immediately available or covered by insurance. As Khaleej Times previously reported with the new obesity pills, insurance coverage can depend on the patient’s policy and why the medicine is prescribed.
