2024 brought some major advancements in medicine.

That includes the approval of “innovative” drugs like Tryvio for high blood pressure, Neffy for severe allergic reactions and Dupixent for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which all gained FDA approval this year.

These medications are “slated to make a big clinical impact for those who need them,” according to GoodRx, a California-based digital health care platform.

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Earlier this month, GoodRx released a list of the 19 most influential drug and vaccine approvals of 2024, some newly designed to treat certain conditions and other existing medications that were approved for additional uses.

Here is the list in order of FDA approval date.

1. Dupixent – Additional use: Eosinophilic esophagitis (an allergic condition that causes inflammation of the esophagus)

2. Amtagvi – New medication: Advanced melanoma

3. Xolair – Additional use: Food allergies

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4. Wegovy – Additional use: Cardiovascular risk reduction

5. Tryvio – New medication: High blood pressure

6. Nexletol – Additional use: High cholesterol

Some medications offer new treatments for common conditions, like Tryvio for high blood pressure and Nexletol for high cholesterol. (iStock)

7. Winrevair – New medication: Pulmonary arterial hypertension

8. mRESVIA – New vaccine: RSV

9. Capvaxive – New vaccine: Pneumococcal disease

10. Wakix – Additional use: Pediatric narcolepsy

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11. Ohtuvayre – New medication: COPD

12. Kisunla – New medication: Alzheimer’s disease

13. Voquezna – Additional use: Heartburn from non-erosive GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)

Some newly approved medications are administered via injection, like Kisunla for Alzheimer’s and Dupixent. (iStock)

14. Zunveyl – New medication: Alzheimer’s disease

15. Yorvipath – New medication: Hypoparathyroidism (low levels of the parathyroid hormone)

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16. Neffy – New medication: Severe allergic reactions

17. FluMist – Additional use: Self- or caregiver-administration 

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18. Cobenfy – New medication: Schizophrenia

19. Dupixent – Additional use: COPD

Many of the newly approved drugs are nasal sprays, like FluMist, a nasal spray vaccine that helps prevent the flu, and Neffy, which is used to treat life-threatening allergic reactions. (iStock)

In a disclaimer, GoodRx noted that the list was created by prioritizing “first-in-class medications and vaccines that are expected to have a significant impact on human health.”

“This was defined as either the number of lives touched or the expected degree of impact for future medication recipients,” the company wrote. 

“We also prioritized medications with effectiveness or safety data that represent a notable advantage over other medications recommended by clinical treatment guidelines or mainstay medical organizations.”

Fox News Digital reached out to GoodRx for comment.

The patient in Louisiana who was hospitalized with severe bird flu illness was found to have a mutated version of the virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced last week.

The fact that the virus mutated within the patient suggests that it could potentially spread from human to human.

The CDC analyzed samples of the H5N1 virus that were collected from the patient, comparing its genomic sequences to those of infected dairy cows, wild birds, poultry and other animals, the agency stated.

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“The analysis identified low frequency mutations in the hemagglutinin gene of a sample sequenced from the patient, which were not found in virus sequences from poultry samples collected on the patient’s property, suggesting the changes emerged in the patient after infection,” the CDC said.

“While these low frequency changes are rare in humans, they have been reported in previous cases of A(H5N1) in other countries and most often during severe disease.”

Based on the discovery of these genetic changes in the virus, health officials recommend performing “ongoing genomic surveillance” in people and animals, taking steps to contain bird flu outbreaks among dairy cattle and poultry, and taking steps to prevent transmission when exposed to infected animals or environments.

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The CDC maintains that the risk to the general public is still low.

“The same mutations were not present in viral genomes sampled from the backyard birds that presumably infected the individual,” Samuel Scarpino, director of AI and life sciences and professor of health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

The CDC analyzed samples of the H5N1 virus that were collected from the patient, comparing its genomic sequences to those of infected dairy cows, wild birds, poultry and other animals. (iStock)

“Because the mutations were present in the human patient, but not the backyard birds, this suggests that the mutations arose during the course of that individual’s infection.”

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital, shared his thoughts on the significance of this finding.

“Each human infection represents a spin of the epidemic roulette wheel.”

“It is somewhat concerning that the H5N1 bird flu virus found in the Louisiana patient showed a mutation that allowed it to enter the upper airways more easily in this patient, but this mutation has been seen before,” he told Fox News Digital.

The good news, the doctor noted, is that there have not been any reports of the Louisiana patient transmitting the virus to other humans.

“It is important that surveillance among domestic poultry and dairy cattle is extensive,” Dr. Marc Siegel told Fox News Digital. (Photo by Uli Deck/picture alliance via Getty Images)

“We know the mutations to look out for in terms of the potential to spread among humans” based on previous research, Siegel said. 

“It is important that surveillance among domestic poultry and dairy cattle is extensive,” he added. 

Scarpino agreed that while the mutations are “concerning,” they “likely do not represent an increased risk to the public.”

“Similar events — mutations arising during infection that increase risk in humans — occurred with the individual who was infected with H5N1 from wild birds in Canada and have happened a number of times during previous H5N1 outbreaks outside the U.S. and Canada,” he told Fox News Digital. 

The more opportunities the virus has to infect people, the more likely similar mutations will occur and spark a “chain of transmission” in humans, one expert cautioned. (iStock)

“To date, it does not appear as though the individual in Louisiana transmitted the infection to other people.”

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The doctor cautioned, however, that the more opportunities the virus has to infect people, the more likely similar mutations will occur and spark a “chain of transmission” in humans. 

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“Each human infection represents a spin of the epidemic roulette wheel,” Scarpino said. 

“We need to take active steps to eliminate H5N1 infections in agricultural populations and better understand why so many wild birds continue to be infected.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are keeping a close eye on “red flags” relating to the bird flu and whether the illness might develop into a pandemic, according to a report. 

The latest numbers show 66 confirmed human cases of bird flu in the U.S. The CDC is taking a holiday break and will resume updates on human cases on Jan. 3.

“Identifying epidemiologically linked clusters of influenza A(H5N1) human cases might indicate the virus is better able to spread between humans,” a CDC spokesperson told Newsweek. “CDC is searching for genetic changes in circulating viruses that suggest it could better transmit between humans.”

The red flags the CDC is monitoring are outbreaks that are spread from person-to-person and evidence that the virus has mutated, Newsweek reports.

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Last week, the CDC announced that a patient in Louisiana who was hospitalized with severe bird flu illness was found to have a mutated version of the virus. That case fell into the red flag category, the CDC spokesperson told Newsweek.

“The analysis identified low frequency mutations in the hemagglutinin gene of a sample sequenced from the patient, which were not found in virus sequences from poultry samples collected on the patient’s property, suggesting the changes emerged in the patient after infection,” the CDC said in an announcement on its website.

BIRD FLU PATIENT HAD VIRUS MUTATIONS, SPARKING CONCERN ABOUT HUMAN SPREAD

A recall alert is displayed on a refrigerator at a pet store in Tigard, Ore., on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, after Northwest Naturals announced a voluntary recall Tuesday of one batch of its 2-pound Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food after it tested positive for the virus. (Jenny Kane)

“While these low frequency changes are rare in humans, they have been reported in previous cases of A(H5N1) in other countries and most often during severe disease,” the agency added.

The CDC did not immediately get back to a Fox News Digital inquiry, but previously stressed there has been no known transmission of the virus from the Louisiana patient to anyone else.

A cow has its hair trimmed by an exhibitor at the state fair in West Allis, Wisconsin, U.S., August 9, 2024. Dairy farmers were taking precautions with testing for avian flu while exhibiting cattle during the fair.  (Reuters/Jim Vondruska)

Avian influenza, also known as HPAI, is a highly contagious virus that can be spread in various ways from flock to flock  through contact with infected animals, by equipment, and on the clothing and shoes of caretakers, according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

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State officials confirmed infected flocks in two additional Michigan counties on Monday. 

FILE PHOTO: A person touches a test tube labelled “Bird Flu”, in this picture illustration, January 14, 2023. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)

According to the CDC, the public health risk associated with avian influenza remains low. No birds or bird products infected with HPAI will enter the commercial food chain. 

Fox News’ Alexandra Koch, Melissa Rudy and the Associated Press contributed to this report.