The U.S. NIH once again faces questions about its oversight of certain research. In the latest round, the U.S. Government Accountability Office called on the agency to do more to ensure that foreign facilities conducting NIH-funded animal research are compliant with U.S. standards and policy regarding animal care and use, as well as international standards.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has scaled back the list of Medicare Part B drugs facing the new inflation rebate under the Inflation Reduction Act for the first quarter of 2023.
As Seagen Inc. preps for a merger, the U.S. FDA awarded accelerated approval to the company’s big-selling Padcev (enfortumab vedotin). The approval is for a combination therapy with Merck & Co. Inc.’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) as a first-line treatment for adults with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who are not eligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy.
France is tightening access to the reimbursed health care market for digital medical devices. The national Digital Healthcare Agency (ANS) reported that a standard interoperability and safety system for digital medical devices is coming into force.
Masimo Corp.’s Opioid Halo, an opioid overdose prevention and alert system, was granted de novo status by the U.S. FDA. The device detects opioid-induced respiratory depression, the primary cause of opioid deaths. The de novo authorizes the company to make Halo available over the counter and by prescription for use on individuals aged 15 and up.
More than four years after it was given the authority to do so, the FDA is requiring manufacturers of opioid painkillers dispensed in outpatient settings to make prepaid mail-back envelopes available to pharmacies and other dispensers as part of their risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS).
A frustrating lack of detail left analysts with little to do but speculate on the odds for a 2023 U.S. FDA approval of Ascendis Pharma A/S’s Transcon PTH (palopegteriparatide), a parathyroid hormone prodrug for hypoparathyroidism, after the company disclosed a letter from the agency citing unspecified deficiencies that preclude further discussions about labeling and postmarketing requirements.
With the public health emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly winding down, the U.S. FDA has published guidance for the transition of COVID-specific diagnostic tests and other articles to conventional premarket review mechanisms.