Zig Therapeutics Inc. reported on new patented systems and methods for the remote diagnosis and treatment of a bacterial infection in individuals with chronic respiratory diseases experiencing acute respiratory exacerbations using automated color vision sputum analysis.
Enovis Corp. has agreed to acquire Limacorporate S.p.A. (Lima) from EQT Capital for €800 million (US$847 million) as part of its growth strategy that will see it achieve $2 billion in revenues by 2024. The transaction includes €700 million in cash and €100 million in shares of Enovis common stock, expected to be issued within 18 months after closing.
Femasys Inc. received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for Femaseed, an infertility treatment that delivers sperm directly to the fallopian tubes. Less invasive and more straightforward than in vitro fertilization, the procedure offers what the company said is a new and more affordable alternative to family building for couples encountering fertility issues.
Patent challenges for radiotherapy equipment might not make the splash that in vitro diagnostic patents have, but Elekta AB and Zap Surgical Inc., have been locked in a dispute over an Elekta patent for the past four years.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 covered a lot of budget terrain for the U.S. federal government, but Section 3305 was unusual for this type of bill in that it called on the FDA to require cybersecurity features as a part of the Quality System Regulation (QSR).
How flexible should the U.S. FDA evidentiary standards be for a therapy addressing a significant unmet need in a disease such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)? That’s the question the agency’s Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee will ponder Sept. 27 as it looks at the data for Brainstorm Cell Therapuetics Inc.’s Nurown (debamestrocel), a mesenchymal stromal cell therapy targeting ALS. Nurown is going into the adcom with a bit of a checkered history that includes a refuse-to-file letter and a single phase III trial that failed to demonstrate efficacy for the primary endpoint and all key secondary efficacy endpoints, according to the FDA briefing document.
At its Investor Day on September 20, Boston Scientific Corp. unveiled an ambitious long-range plan to become “the highest performing med-tech large-cap company” in terms of financial performance, sales growth, EPS, execution and talent retention.” That’s a notable step up from its 2021 goal of being just one of the top performers.
The U.S. Supreme Court has heard two cases this year regarding the False Claims Act (FCA), including the Shutte v. Supervalu case, which the court has remanded to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. However, even though the case has not come to a close, Jay Stephens of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, believes that the Supreme Court’s handling of Supervalu creates an environment in which the process of discovery will become much more burdensome for all involved.
The U.S. FDA’s Sept. 6 hearing of the Patient Engagement Advisory Committee (PEAC) tackled the question of health equity, a discussion that touched on several issues such as accessibility. One of the committee’s recommendations was that the FDA assist the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with the latter’s task of developing codes for payment, not the kind of task to which the FDA is typically assigned.
Safety concerns overrode benefit when the U.S. FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee (EMDAC) voted unanimously, 19-0, Sept. 21 that the potential risks of Intarcia Therapeutics’ ITCA-650 outweighed the compliance and A1C-lowering benefits the twice-yearly implantable exenatide-device combination product could provide for adults with type 2 diabetes.