FDA
The FDA plans to hold an advisory committee meeting to discuss Capricor Therapeutics’ application for deramiocel, which the agency rejected last July. The news surprised CEO Linda Marbán, who told BioSpace the FDA has not communicated any issues of concern with the company’s resubmitted application.
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The FDA has so far secured 600 new hires and is looking for 1,600 more as interim leadership at the agency aims to rebuild the workforce and morale after more than a year of intense attrition.
Former FDA, CDC and NIH leaders convene at the BIO International Convention to discuss the dismantling of the Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration—and where we go from here.
While drugmakers and other stakeholders want to see faster approvals, experts say the FDA’s Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program is still bereft of important details, with candidate selection and interference from the agency’s senior leaders topping the list.
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Jubilant HollisterStier received a warning letter over problems that the FDA said necessitate an immediate and comprehensive assessment of the contract manufacturing organization’s global operations.
A few short days after announcing an FDA pivot on a separate asset, REGENXBIO is planning to test the agency’s apparent newfound rare disease outlook on another late-stage gene therapy.
A new report from RBC Capital Markets lists Biotechnology Innovation Organization chief executive John Crowley and military physician Heidi Overton as potential candidates for the role of FDA commissioner—in addition to the agency’s current acting leader, top food regulator Kyle Diamantas.
AbbVie scooped up immunology player Apogee Therapeutics for nearly $11 billion in one of the year’s top deals to-date, while Sanofi made a big play to survive its upcoming Dupixent patent cliff; FDA uncertainty continues as the agency changes direction on gene therapies by uniQure and REGENXBIO; and Jef Akst and Annalee Armstrong report back from San Diego.
As Sangamo runs out of cash, Eli Lilly and Astellas have emerged as stalking horse bidders for key assets, including a Fabry gene therapy currently being submitted for potential FDA approval.
Among the health department’s efforts is an expedited investigational new drug pilot program that would leverage collaborations with U.S. research institutions to reduce early trial timelines by as much as 12 months.
The resubmission for RGX-121, expected in the third quarter, comes as the FDA has deemed REGENXBIO’s existing data “sufficient” to support an accelerated filing. It immediately follows a similar reversal of position regarding uniQure’s embattled Huntington’s disease gene therapy.
The FDA in February briefly refused to review Moderna’s flu vaccine, citing trial inadequacies, but reversed course a few days later. A verdict is expected by Aug. 5.
UniQure’s planned third-quarter submission for its Huntington’s disease gene therapy may be a harbinger of a more flexible FDA under acting commissioner Kyle Diamantas—but how long will it last? And how can companies be sure these positive decisions won’t just be reversed?
After being rejected in June 2022, GSK paid Spero Therapeutics $66 million for an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize the drug. It’s the second oral antibiotic GSK has brought to market since the beginning of last year.