Citing “serious breaches” of its code of practice, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) suspended the membership of Novo Nordisk A/S in the trade organization for two years. The suspension marks the eighth time in 40 years that the association has invoked such sanctions.
Despite a failed phase III study, the U.S. FDA suggests in briefing documents that tofersen (BIIB-067) is effective for treating the rare, genetic disease superoxide dismutase 1 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The intrathecally injected therapy is being developing by Biogen Inc. and Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and is at the heart of a March 22 meeting of the agency’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee (adcom).
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Ipsen, Kuria, Likang, Novartis, Pfizer, Sarepta.
Elekta AB received U.S. FDA clearance for what it called a “groundbreaking upgrade” of its MR-Linac platform which can continuously calculate the movement of a tumor anywhere in the body. The company said the Elekta Unity’s comprehensive motion management platform provides clinicians with enhanced, adaptive radiation therapy workflow to track moving organs such as the prostate, liver and pancreas.
Medtronic plc has scored a CE mark for its Affera mapping and ablation system for atrial arrhythmias, mere months after acquiring the technology from cardiac solutions company Affera Inc. The dual-use system, which includes the Sphere-9 catheter and Affera Prism-1 mapping software, will be available in Europe beginning in the first half of 2023.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Abbisko, Clearmind, Everest, Glenmark.
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. CEO Doug Ingram said the U.S. FDA has promised to schedule “expeditiously” an advisory committee meeting on the BLA related to SRP-9001 (delandistrogene moxeparvovec) for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
Citing clinical trial data backed by real-world data, members of the U.S. FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee voted overwhelmingly, 16-1, March 16 that the overall benefit-risk assessment is favorable for the use of Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Argenx, Biontech, Bioprojet, Cognition, Deciphera, Edesa, Pfizer, Skye.