After nearly two years with an unconfirmed acting director at its helm, the U.S. NIH is one step closer to finally having Senate-confirmed leadership to steer the agency in a time pressed with political agendas, pandemic concerns and the potential for what could be life-altering innovations. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted 15-6 Oct. 25 to favorably report Monica Bertagnolli’s nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote as the next NIH director.
Vuno Inc. gained a U.S. FDA’s 510(k) clearance for its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered brain quantification device, Vuno Med-Deepbrain, to diagnose possible dementia in patients “even before mild cognitive impairment.”
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Abbott, RF Medical, Ventric Health.
Bloomsbury Genetic Therapies Ltd. has announced it received orphan drug designations from the FDA and the European Commission for BGT-INAD, an investigational gene therapy for the treatment of infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (INAD).
Ankyra Therapeutics Inc. has received approval of its IND application by the FDA and its clinical trial application (CTA) by Health Canada for its lead agent, ANK-101, a novel tumor-directed anchored immune medicine.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is calling for an investigation into the NIH’s proposed grant of an exclusive patent license for a late-stage cervical cancer drug to a small company linked to a former NIH researcher.
Biologics innovators typically take a lifecycle approach to developing new indications and formulations of their prescription drugs, especially when biosimilar competition is on the horizon.
The U.S. FDA recently released a guidance for non-invasive remote monitoring devices, which were granted tremendous leniency during the COVID-19 pandemic as a means of reducing the demands on hospitals and doctor’s offices. That policy has been extended for the non-COVID era as part of the agency’s strategic plan to improve health equity by ensuring that access to digital health technologies is enjoyed by diverse American populations in a variety of health care access-challenged geographical areas.
The U.S. FDA, Health Canada, and the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency have once again sidestepped the usual mechanisms for international regulatory cooperation to strike a blow for harmonization.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Advanced Bifurcation Systmes, Life Molecular Imaging, Sintau Intl., Medinol, MTF Biologics, Think Surgical.