HONG KONG – India’s conditional approval on Jan. 3 of a COVID-19 vaccine developed domestically by Bharat Biotech International Ltd. but still in phase III trials has sparked concerns about its safety. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) gave emergency authorization to the product, Covaxin, along with the Astrazeneca plc and Oxford University vaccine Covishield. The DCGI said the conditional approval granting “restricted use in emergency situation” for Covaxin was done in “clinical trial mode” to account for the fact that the shot is still being tested. But the rush to approve it has created controversy and confusion.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Antengene, Arcturus, Ascentage, Atriva, Chipscreen, Cure, Genentech, Marius, Marker, Moderna, Ovoca, Precigen, Roche, Zosano.
HONG KONG – Hutchison China Meditech Ltd. (Chi-Med) earned approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for Sulanda (surufatinib) for the treatment of non-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), marking what CEO Christian Hogg called a “major milestone” as the first drug to be discovered and developed by Chi-Med without the support of a development partner.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an advisory opinion last week saying that drug manufacturers are obligated to provide 340B pricing for outpatient drugs dispensed by contract pharmacies on behalf of hospitals and clinics that qualify for the discounts. But the opinion said nothing about enforcement action or assessing civil penalties against manufacturers who refuse to do so.
NEW DELHI – The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) granted its first emergency conditional approvals Jan. 3 for a pair of COVID-19 vaccines, including Covishield, developed abroad by Astrazeneca plc and Oxford University and manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII). The DCGI also approved Covaxin, which was developed locally by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd. in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research, and is still in phase III trials.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Ambrx, Antengene, Arcturus, Atara, Ayala, Bioniz, BMS, Forge, Inozyme, Matinas, Opko, Passage, Pfizer, Provention.
A new rule intended to give drug manufacturers the flexibility they need to enter into value-based purchasing agreements with state Medicaid programs and commercial payers could end up hurting patients at the pharmacy counter in the U.S.
PERTH, Australia – The COVID-19 pandemic certainly put pressure on Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration during the 2019 to 2020 year, but it also showed that the agency was able to rise to challenge and not buckle under pressure, revealing a number of strengths that the agency will build upon, the TGA said in its annual performance report.