The theft of 110 units of a study drug containing a Schedule III controlled substance resulted in a warning letter from the U.S. FDA. Addressed to the clinical investigator, Kevin Bender, of the Tamarac, Fla.-based DBC Research Corp., the May 2 letter should serve as a reminder to all trial investigators handling controlled substances.
With round 1 not yet completed, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) already is prepping for round 2 of the Medicare negotiations mandated by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. While the negotiation process will expand to Part B drugs in the future, round 2, like the first cycle, will be limited to single-source Part D drugs that account for some of the highest Medicare expenditures. However, the number of drugs selected for the next cycle could grow from the current 10 to up to 15
By now, the story of last year’s dismal U.S. capital markets is hardly news. But when combined with increasing regulatory stresses, especially for biopharma and med-tech startups, there are elements of that story giving some Street-watchers pause, even as the market begins to show a few signs of recovery.
Just a few days after the U.S. Congressional Research Service issued a report suggesting ways Congress could resolve the unanswered questions about patent listings in the FDA’s Orange Book, the FTC sent a second round of warning letters to eight biopharma companies and their subsidiaries, citing the listing of device patents for combination products.
The U.S. government chalked up another win April 29 against the constitutional challenges to the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision mandating direct Medicare price negotiations for selected prescription drugs.
It’s been a year since U.S. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf first started talking about reforming the agency’s advisory committee process. Now the FDA is moving beyond talking about it to listening. The agency has scheduled an all-day listening session June 13 to get feedback on optimizing the use of adcoms and the processes involved.
Looking beyond the U.S. biopharma industry, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is now pushing the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations to get on board with the World Health Organization’s proposed Pandemic Accord aimed at making diagnostics, treatments and vaccines available to everyone who needs them.
Looking beyond the U.S. biopharma industry, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is now pushing the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations to get on board with the World Health Organization’s proposed Pandemic Accord aimed at making diagnostics, treatments and vaccines available to everyone who needs them.
The U.S. FDA issued a revised draft guidance, “Promotional labeling and advertising considerations for prescription biological reference and biosimilar products,” to help ensure promotional communications involving reference biologics or their follow-ons are accurate, truthful and not misleading.
There was a time not that long ago when Merck & Co. Inc.’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab), with its multiple cancer indications, was seen as the heir apparent to Humira’s title of the biggest blockbuster drug. Not anymore. That title now belongs to Novo Nordisk A/S’ semaglutide, approved as Ozempic in 2017 to treat diabetes and as Wegovy in 2021 to help with weight loss.