Alveogene Ltd. has announced its novel inhaled gene therapy for lethal neonatal surfactant protein B (SP-B) deficiency, AVG-002, has been awarded orphan drug designation by the FDA.
Movano Inc., dba Movano Health, added some clinical-grade glitz to its Evie ring with a U.S. FDA clearance for the built-in pulse oximeter. Movan’s stock shot up from an all-time low within minutes of the announcement on Dec. 2, as the clearance breathes new life into Movano’s plans to position the ring as a medical device.
A proposed rule to implement the five-year-old Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act would expand the U.S. Health and Human Services’ (HHS) permissive exclusion authority to biopharma manufacturers that misclassify outpatient drugs supplied under agreements with federal health care programs.
The U.S. FDA said it is investigating the risk of hematologic malignancies associated with Bluebird Bio Inc.’s Skysona (elivaldogene autotemcel), approved in 2022 as a one-time gene therapy for treating early active cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy in boys, ages 4 to 17.
Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. won local approval of the first China-made trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2)-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), sacituzumab tirumotecan, as a third-line therapy for advanced breast cancer.
Following a late-cycle review meeting with the U.S. FDA in September and the agency’s decision to skip the advisory committee meeting, expectations were high heading toward the PDUFA date for Applied Therapeutics Inc.’s priority NDA for govorestat in galactosemia. So the complete response letter issued by the FDA just ahead of the Nov. 28 PDUFA date, citing deficiencies in the clinical application, caught nearly everyone off guard.
When U.S. CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure announced Nov. 26 that the agency is “reinterpreting” the law in proposing a rule allowing Medicare and Medicaid to cover obesity drugs beginning in 2026, she called it a “historic step.” The rule, if finalized, could make obesity drugs like Novo Nordisk A/S’ Wegovy (semaglutide) and Eli Lilly and Co.’s Zepbound (tirzepatide) available to millions more Americans and further invigorate development of other obesity drugs. But given the lateness of the day in the Biden administration, the proposal may be more symbolic than historic.
Arovella Therapeutics Ltd. is heading toward the clinic with its lead product, ALA-101, which consists of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting CD19 and invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ordered Lorik Papyan, who pleaded guilty three years ago to one count of unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription drugs, to pay Gilead Sciences Inc. nearly $32 million in restitution to cover lost profits due to a counterfeit HIV drug scheme he was involved in.
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