Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced 2022 drug price revisions that became effective on April 1. Across the board, the cuts averaged about 6.6%, which translates to more than ¥600 billion (US$4.73 billion), and the pace of cuts is expected to accelerate. Price cuts in 2021 were worth roughly ¥430 billion.
A week before the U.S. FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee was to meet and review TG Therapeutics Inc.’s BLA and sNDA for the combo of ublituximab and Ukoniq (umbralisib) for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma, the company voluntarily withdrew the submission and now is rethinking its oncology programs. The move was tied to an FDA-requested analysis of phase III data showing that, while study met its primary endpoint, there was an imbalance in updated overall survival (OS) results favoring the control arm. A June 25 PDUFA date had been set for the combination treatment.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Amneal, Astellas, Coherus, Innovent, Inxmed, Merck, PTC, Regeneron.
The FDA’s June 2021 draft guidance for remanufacturing of medical devices wades into a highly complicated area of compliance for third-party servicing organizations that may not be familiar with FDA regulations, but the draft has sparked another set of concerns. Two trade associations said the draft would seem to suggest that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) must disclose confidential trade secrets to give these third parties the information needed to service these devices, a suggestion that both the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) and the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) said is clearly out of bounds.
The U.S. FDA’s safety and performance-based pathway (SPBP) is intended as a leaner, meaner alternative to the conventional 510(k) pathway that would sidestep some of the presumed problems with the concept of substantial equivalence. The agency recently added four device types to this program, including orthopedic fracture fixation plates.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Fosun Diagnostics.
China’s Ministry of Science and Technology issued a draft rule on regulations governing sharing of human genetic resources that provides clarity on parts of the regulation that were previously ambiguous, Katherine Wang, partner at Ropes & Gray in Shanghai, told BioWorld.
It’s been one thing after another for rusfertide from Protagonist Therapeutics Inc. for the past year. Now the U.S. FDA has told the company it wants to rescind the breakthrough designation, a relatively rare occurrence, based on observed malignancies in a follow-up to September’s clinical hold.
The U.K.’s drugs regulator has approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Valneva SE – although the shot is likely only to be offered to health workers in Scotland after the Westminster government rejected it because rivals beat it to market.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Affamed, Atyr, Biogen, Boehringer, Briacell, Direct, Eli Lilly, Novavax, Recbio.