59 novel drugs were approved in the USA in 2018, representing a leap from the 46 approved in 2017 and 22 approved in 2016. 19 of the 59 drugs (32 percent) have been designated ‘first-in-class’ and 34 of the 59 drugs (58 percent) were approved to treat rare or “orphan” diseases. Additionally, GW Pharma’s Epidiolex represented the first FDA-approved drug derived from marijuana. See below for a full list of the approved drugs and read more at the FDA website here.