Regulatory
Through substantial leadership turnover and workforce cuts, the FDA has continued to support the advanced therapy sector, actively working to remove obstacles to innovation.
Unpredictable communication and a lack of transparency are eroding the industry’s and the public’s trust. The FDA, experts agree, needs to take control of the narrative.
One of the FDA’s potential approvals this month could break an existing monopoly in the treatment space for a rare growth disorder.
Pfizer seals the deal with Metsera for $10 billion after Novo Nordisk bowed out; President Donald Trump welcomes executives from Novo and Eli Lilly to the White House to announce that the companies’ GLP-1 medicines would be sold at a reduced cost; and the FDA grants the second round of priority review vouchers—primarily to already marketed drugs.
The appointment of Richard Pazdur, currently director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence, comes less than a week after he reportedly declined the post, and just nine days after his predecessor’s controversial exit.
Representatives from companies such as Sanofi and Forge Biologics point to the potential for PreCheck to drive activation of idle production capacity and help companies that are already building plants.
After a leading study caused the FDA to slap its most stringent warning on hormone replacement therapies for menopause more than two decades ago, the regulator is changing course in what FDA Commissioner Marty Makary called a “historic day for women in the United States.”
The FDA awards a second round of Commissioner’s National Priority vouchers to six larger biopharma companies. And this time, with the exception of Eli Lilly’s orforglipron, the vouchers are for drugs that are already on the market.
The search continues for a new leader for the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research after George Tidmarsh resigned on Sunday. Deputy Director Mike Davis is in the running, along with Mary Thanh Hai, currently head of the Office of New Drugs.
The upheaval of the Health and Human Services workforce and leadership leaves much to be desired in terms of delivery, recently retired FDA Chief Information Officer Vid Desai tells BioSpace, but the regulatory agency is evolving to be more open to much needed change.
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