FDA
Last week, the FDA made its one pivotal trial policy official, sparking myriad questions from industry leaders, including around specific evidence required for the single study and why it hasn’t been implemented across all therapeutic areas before now.
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FDA vouchers are normally a coveted prize for biopharma companies, but a surprise rejection for Disc Medicine’s rare disease drug has biopharma reconsidering.
Regulatory uncertainty is no longer background noise. It is a material investment risk that reshapes how capital is deployed and pipelines are prioritized.
The FDA’s refusal to review Moderna’s mRNA-based flu vaccine is “part of a disturbing pattern” of moving regulatory goalposts, according to Clay Alspach, executive director of the Alliance for mRNA Medicines. Meanwhile, streamlined communications with regulators in other countries pave the way for rapid uptake of novel modalities.
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Tracy Beth Høeg addressed FDA staffers for the first time in her role as the fifth CDER chief under President Donald Trump, announcing inquiries into the use of SSRIs in pregnancy and RSV antibodies in infants despite well-documented safety of these treatments.
Drug sponsors should nevertheless bolster their application with “confirmative evidence,” chief regulators Marty Makary and Vinay Prasad said on Wednesday, including mechanistic data or findings from related indications or animal models.
The disagreement between Moderna and the FDA has reached a resolution just eight days after the biotech received a Refusal-to-File letter in response to its application for mRNA-1010. Moderna will now seek approval of the vaccine based on age.
Disc Medicine’s leadership tried to express optimism that its rare disease therapy bitopertin can be approved based on a Phase 3 trial set to begin shortly. However, analysts are worried that the protocol was developed with former FDA leaders.
Johns Hopkins’ Thomas Hartung discusses how drug discovery and development will change under evolving regulatory policies that embrace AI technology as well as organoid and other non-animal models of human biology.
The FDA in October 2025 granted bitopertin its Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher but after a shortened review time has decided the data did not support regulatory approval for treating erythropoietic protoporphyria.
Richard Pazdur had spent 26 years at the FDA before stepping down last year due to disagreements with Commissioner Marty Makary about lowering the number of clinical trials required for a new drug application, Pazdur told the media.
Through its AI Consortium and global forums, DIA is translating high‑level AI guidance into concrete workflows that match oversight to risk, from low‑stakes automation to decision‑critical regulatory analyses.
The FDA’s refusal to review Moderna’s mRNA-based flu vaccine is part of a larger communications crisis unfolding at the agency over the past nine months that has also ensnarled Sarepta, Capricor, uniQure and many more.
Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research head, is accused of interpersonal impropriety as pushback builds against his decision to reject Moderna’s influenza vaccine candidate.