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If cell and gene therapy makers are going to achieve their mission to improve patients’ lives, the industry must come together to share information across stakeholders, from regulators to manufacturers to payers.
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.
FDA
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?
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FDA veteran Peter Marks will now shape the future of Eli Lilly’s vaccines work after the buys of Curevo, LimmaTech Biologics and Vaccine Company for up to $3.8 billion total.
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Formed by Sofinnova Partners and former Sanofi executive Frédéric Marrache, Bionyra Pharma emerged from stealth Monday with an initial focus in inflammatory bowel disease and atopic dermatitis.
About two months into CEO Belén Garijo’s new tenure, Sanofi’s R&D chief has departed, with Xaira’s chief medical officer set to take charge of the pharma’s pipeline.
As uniQure prepares its closely watched Huntington’s disease gene therapy for FDA review, the biotech is also making waves in chronic epilepsy with another gene therapy that Stifel says is off to a “promising start.”
Eli Lilly plans to use BioArctic’s technology to shuttle an undisclosed drug candidate into the brain. The pharma hasn’t specified which neurodegenerative disease it will target.
Insilico Medicine and SK Biopharmaceuticals will use generative AI to develop novel therapies for unspecified neuroimmune disorders.
AbbVie will add Apogee’s IL-23 blocker to its current immunology stalwarts Skyrizi and Rinvoq, which have helped the pharma ride out the steep patent cliff left behind from mega-blockbuster drug Humira.
ALS
Nura Bio will use the series B financing to carry two neuroprotective drug candidates through early- to mid-stage clinical studies, one targeting ALS and the other for a broader neurological profile.
FDA
Denali Therapeutics is the latest company to sell a priority review fast pass for an elevated price after the program was renewed earlier this year.
The U.S. government has argued that it pays too much of biopharma R&D costs, demanding that other high-income countries contribute fairly to global innovation efforts.
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.