A U.S. district court slapped down a controversial Department of Health and Human Services rule that threatened the future of biopharma companies’ patient assistance programs, which are intended to help patients cover their out-of-pocket costs for pricy drugs.
A year after the World Health Organization's (WHO) Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response called for reforms to make COVID-19 the last pandemic, the panel remains solidly frustrated in its lack of progress.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Alzamend, Ananda, Biontech, Cytokinetics, Gilead, Huyabio, Incannex, Janssen, Nouscom, Pfizer, Sorrento, Teva.
While children younger than 5 in the U.S. still have no vaccine protection against COVID-19, those 5 and older may be able to get a third jab. The FDA authorized, May 17, the use of a single booster dose of the Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE vaccine for kids 5 through 11 years of age who completed the primary two-dose series at least five months earlier.
Rather than drafting a new guidance, the U.S. FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research made some clarifying revisions to update its 16-year-old final guidance, “Investigating out-of-specification (OOS) test results for pharmaceutical production.”
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Astrazeneca, Atamyo, Eli Lilly, Faron, Galera, Gedeon, Inmagene, Junshi, Mitsubishi, Point, Scpharmaceuticals, Sifi, Travere, Valneva, Zenas.
Valneva SE’s share price plummeted May 16 after the European Commission decided to terminate an advance purchase agreement for millions of doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate VLA-2001 because of delays in development. The company’s shares (Paris:VLA) fell more 19% to €9.65 (US$10.07) after it said it would reconsider its financial guidance for 2022.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Checkpoint, Clearmind, Editas, Hansa, Mitsubishi Tanabe, Neurocrine, Polarityte, UCB, Yiling.
Six weeks ahead of its June 26 PDUFA date, the U.S. FDA has approved a priority NDA for Eli Lilly and Co.’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide), an injectable treatment for adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The once-weekly, first-in-class medicine activates both glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptors, which leads to improved blood sugar control. The potential market is massive, as 462 million people across the planet have T2D. The numbers have been growing 1.4% annually as the population ages and grows more obese.
News that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) had signed off on a compromise World Trade Organization (WTO) proposal to waive IP rights for COVID-19 vaccines caught Congress by surprise earlier in early May. Now, some members, both Democrats and Republicans, are reminding USTR Katherine Tai that she has an obligation to consult with Congress on such trade issues.