The U.S. FDA approved 17 drugs in July, down from 28 in June, which marked the third-highest month in BioWorld’s records. On average, the FDA approved approximately nearly 19 drugs per month so far in 2024, compared to 16 per month in 2023, 12.5 per month in 2022, and 17 per month in both 2021 and 2020.

China’s National Medical Products Administration cleared Ascentage Pharma Group Corp. Ltd. to begin a registrational phase III trial of its BCL-2 selective inhibitor lisaftoclax (APG-2575) in combination with azacitidine for first-line treatment of newly diagnosed patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome.

Pfizer Inc. is calling on the Australian government to establish priorities for the life sciences sector to attract more investment into research, clinical trials and manufacturing in Australia. The new report recommends that the government issue a life sciences vision akin to the one issued by the U.K. in 2021 to make the country more competitive to attract investment.

The New York Times published an article on Aug. 20 about potential conflicts of interest on the part of Jeff Shuren, former director of the Center for Devices & Radiological Health (CDRH), arguing that Shuren may have failed to recuse himself in matters in which his wife, a regulatory attorney, represented a medical device maker.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s report on FDA oversight of medical devices acknowledges that the agency has made strides in its efforts to develop surveillance systems to track adverse events, but there are shortcomings.

Despite the U.S. FDA’s tentative approval of Liquidia Corp.’s Yutrepia (treprostinil) for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease, the company is stuck in the starting gate. Liquidia said it disagrees with the agency’s stance of simultaneously granting regulatory exclusivity in both indications to United Therapeutics Corp.’s powdered formulation of treprostinil, branded Tyvaso, until May 23, 2025. That means full approval for the inhalation powder won’t come until after that date and neither will a Yutrepia launch.

Pfizer Inc. is calling on the Australian government to establish priorities for the life sciences sector to attract more investment into research, clinical trials and manufacturing in Australia. The new report recommends that the government issue a life sciences vision akin to the one issued by the U.K. in 2021 to make the country more competitive to attract investment.

The COVID-19 pandemic drove a large volume of in vitro diagnostic test efforts toward the SARS-CoV-2 virus, such as the Biofire respiratory panel by Biofire Diagnostics LLC, of Salt Lake City, a test for which the U.S. FDA released the special controls.

Privacy legislation was passed and implemented in the European Union, but the picture in the U.S. is pockmarked by state legislation, a scenario that raises concerns about a fractured and impracticable compliance regime.