FDA
After devastating regulatory setbacks last year, shares of uniQure and Replimune rose on the news that FDA Commissioner Marty Makary is leaving. But analysts don’t expect much relief, no matter who helms the agency.
FEATURED STORIES
The FDA’s decision last year to make complete response letters public provides new insight into why therapies sometimes fail to get the regulatory greenlight. Analysts say the information could help sponsors refine their regulatory strategies.
The Department of Health and Human Services is spinning its wheels, unable to establish steady leadership at three major divisions—the CDC and the FDA’s two primary review units.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s health department has consistently touted radical transparency as being key to its mission. Recent instances—the FDA’s decision not to disclose the recipients of three Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers and FDA and CDC choices not to publish vaccine-related papers—call this intent into question.
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The FDA’s extension will give reviewers more time to review a major amendment to Biogen and Eisai’s application for a subcutaneous induction formulation of Alzheimer’s therapy Leqembi. The new target action date is on Aug. 24.
Implemented as part of a broader initiative to make more targeted and efficient use of inspection resources, the pilot program will use artificial intelligence to enable shorter, focused screenings to complement standard FDA inspections.
The FDA turned away Ebvallo in January, taking issue with the design of the registrational trial. In a recent meeting, however, the agency agreed that the study could in fact support the cell therapy’s approval. The news comes a week after the departure of controversial biologics Director Vinay Prasad.
Acting Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Director Tracy Beth Høeg reportedly disagreed with staff who wanted to approve Sanofi’s type 1 diabetes drug. It’s far from the first time a political appointee has allegedly meddled in a recent FDA decision.
Facing increasing pressure from both industry and the White House, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the strong bad press against him is “corporate spin” and that the agency has “followed the science.”
The FDA is reportedly down to a handful of final candidates to lead CBER, with a potential selection expected in the coming month or two. For now, the appointment of acting director Katherine Szarama has not allayed the industry’s concerns.
Comprehending the spate of recent rejections in the cell and gene therapy space may require looking no further than early-stage clinical trials of candidates from REGENXBIO, Excision BioTherapeutics and Intellia Therapeutics.
The advisory committee meeting—the FDA’s first drug-related adcomm in nine months—could have been a “more conceptual discussion” about the design of AstraZeneca’s Phase 3 trial of camizestrant in HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, former cancer regulator Harpreet Singh told BioSpace.
Veppanu, the first PROTAC therapy approved by the FDA, improved progression free survival by 43% versus AstraZeneca’s Faslodex but showed no such significant benefit in the intention-to-treat analysis.
The FDA is looking at a slew of label expansions this month, including one that could open up home-based treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.