FDA
CDER Director George Tidmarsh said on two separate events last week that he thought advisory committee meetings for specific drug applications were redundant, but then denied having said the agency would abandon them.
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Aside from the rare disease market, Novo Nordisk also scored a key regulatory win last month for its blockbuster GLP-1 drug Wegovy, which can now be used to treat patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.
With a flurry of recent Big Pharma investment in radiopharmaceutical therapeutics, the FDA issued draft guidance last month in a move former FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn sees as the regulator “trying to get ahead on a new set of therapy that they see becoming very important for cancer.”
Capricor Therapeutics met with the FDA last week for a type A meeting, during which CEO Linda Marbán aimed to explain to the regulator that it got it wrong. Capricor plans to resubmit the application based on deramiocel’s existing dataset.
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While the new framework signals continued flexibility at the FDA regarding rare disease approvals, some analysts and advocates question what tangible impacts the new guidelines will have.
In a series of memos last week, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Vinay Prasad outlined the FDA’s thinking on the recent limited approvals for updated COVID-19 vaccines.
Paul Offit, longtime member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee and an outspoken critic of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was recently informed by the Department of Health and Human Services that his services are no longer required.
While the approval of Leqembi Iqlik bodes well for Biogen and Eisai’s planned application for a subcutaneous induction regimen next year, its financial impact remains “uncertain,” as potentially higher revenues from the injection could be offset by steeper costs of production, according to Jefferies.
In December 2024, Teva also secured FDA approval for the other liraglutide brand Victoza, indicated for type 2 diabetes.
The American Academy of Pediatrics called the decision to limit children’s access to COVID-19 vaccines “deeply troubling.”
Earlier this month, the FDA backed off on a pause in shipments of the chikungunya vaccine Ixchiq to older adults. Now, the regulator has reversed course.
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System, which Commissioner Marty Makary called “clunky,” previously published updates on a quarterly basis.
The drug, for hereditary angioedema, is Ionis’ second wholly owned asset.
Vanda claims that two generics to its sleep disorder drug Hetlioz were approved despite inadequate data and is requesting that FDA Commissioner Marty Makary revisit the decision.