FDA
Other notable greenlights this year include Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy, the first novel therapeutic for schizophrenia in 35 years, and Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ Rezdiffra, the first-ever treatment for MASH.
The new combination, dubbed Alyftrek, is designed to improve on the Trikafta, a product that generated sales of $8.9 billion in 2023. It’s welcome good news for Vertex following last week’s subpar clinical results for its non-opioid analgesic.
The mega-blockbuster weight loss GLP-1 drug is now also approved to treat obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity, in combination with diet and exercise.
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, X4 Pharmaceuticals and Day One Biopharmaceuticals secured their maiden approvals this year in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, WHIM syndrome and pediatric low-grade glioma. Geron Corporation and ImmunityBio also notched wins.
Despite securing the industry’s first approval for familial chylomicronemia syndrome, BMO Capital Markets believes that Tryngolza’s regulatory triumph will not be a significant positive for Ionis. Instead, the firm is focusing on olezarsen’s readout in severe hypertriglyceridemia, a much larger market.
After a couple months of uncertainty, the FDA has told compounding pharmacies that they have 60 to 90 days before the agency will enforce rules to stop their production of GLP-1s.
The approval concludes what has been a difficult regulatory path for Ryoncil, which suffered FDA rejections in 2020 and 2023.
While layoffs have slowed in the second half of the year, according to BioSpace data, companies including Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson are cutting hundreds or even thousands of employees in 2024.
The letters come amid the Outsourcing Facilities Association’s ongoing lawsuit against the FDA over the regulator’s decision to end the shortage for tirzepatide.
The Novo-Catalent deal now moving ahead highlights unprecedented investment in manufacturing, while also standing out as an exception to the unspoken rule of keeping M&As to less than $5 billion this year.
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