FDA
The CRO market in the APAC region is thriving, particularly in China, due to intense clinical trial and innovation development, with Western investors and pharma leaning in.
A spokesperson for the FDA said the agency is “considering a wide range of options to support American innovation.”
Merck has made a $9.2 billion play for Cidara, and there’s another bidding war afoot, this one for sleep biotech Avadel. Meanwhile, Rick Pazdur has taken the helm at CDER while tensions run high between FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Health Secretary RFK Jr.
The FDA approval of the siRNA drug Redemplo caps off a tumultuous 12 months for Arrowhead, whose partnership with Sarepta caused its own stock to drop during the gene therapy maker’s safety troubles this summer.
A week into his tenure as head of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, experts agree that Rick Pazdur is the “ideal fit” to stabilize the agency. And, according to one ex-FDA official, if his CBER counterpart Vinay Prasad tries to supersede Pazdur’s authority, “there will be hell to pay.”
Sarepta must also run a post-marketing study for Elevidys to better assess the risk of serious liver injury in patients dosed with the gene therapy.
Top Trump administration officials have taken issue with Marty Makary’s management style, pointing to infighting between his appointees and the difficulty to get a hold of the FDA commissioner.
Priority voucher awardees and regulators could feel pressure to “meet the moment” as FDA watchers question the intent and feasibility of the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program.
One of the FDA’s potential approvals this month could break an existing monopoly in the treatment space for a rare growth disorder.
While most BioSpace LinkedIn poll respondents believe the job market won’t improve until at least 2027, two industry experts are optimistic a turnaround could start sooner. They discuss early signals of recovery and challenges that remain.
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