As of Jan. 31, 2024, there were more than 300 CAR T trials registered in China, surpassing the U.S. and becoming the country with the most CAR T therapy clinical trials. Among them, CD19 is the most frequently studied target, according to BioWorld and Cortellis. The rapid evolution of CAR T-cell therapies in China has escalated over the past decade from the start of the first clinical trials in 2013 to the country becoming an established host for CAR T-cell-related trials by 2017, according to Yongxian Hu and researchers from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. Chinese cell therapy companies – backed by $2.37 billion in funding in 2021 – have since significantly increased basic research and trial output for CAR Ts, which was welcomed by large patient demand.

U.S. Medicare coverage of products for leg and foot ulcers has undergone a second review in less than a year thanks to pushback from stakeholders after the August 2023 issuance of proposed non-coverage policies for more than 100 cell and tissue-based products.

The process of manufacturing autologous T-cell therapies is technically challenging when compared with other oncology drugs, making the overall cost of developing CAR T therapies significantly higher. A challenging reimbursement environment for drugs listed on China’s National Reimbursement Drug List also means that most patients will have to pay out of pocket to access CAR T therapies. Taken together, complex logistics – production, manufacturing and supply chain – and complicated administration requirements are key bottlenecks that inflate the input costs involved in developing these specialized treatment options.

Replay Holdings LLC and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report that the FDA has cleared the IND application for PRAME TCR/IL-15 NK (SY-307), an engineered T-cell receptor natural killer (TCR-NK) cell therapy for relapsed/refractory myeloid malignancies.

The U.S. FDA’s final rule for regulation of lab-developed tests was hardly a shock to the world of regulation, but the final rule might provide a shock for sorts for smaller entities in the diagnostics space. Analysts with Leerink Partners said most companies they routinely track are unlikely to be immediately affected by the final rule, but noted that FDA regulation might make it tougher for smaller, new entries to the space to get to market.

Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp. will not launch any new product in the EU before the U.S. because of the challenging requirements under the new Medical Device Regulation, Stuart Hart, chief medical officer at the Princeton, New Jersey-based company, told delegates at the LSX conference in London.

Abbott Laboratories received U.S. FDA approval for its Esprit below-the-knee (BTK) everolimus-eluting resorbable scaffold system for use in chronic limb-threatening ischemia well ahead of the expected second half 2024 time frame. Esprit showed clear superiority to angioplasty in the LIFE-BTK trial presented at last year’s Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The U.S. FDA has posted the long-awaited final rule for lab-developed tests, which amends the draft rule in a few key respects, but Reps. Diana DeGette and Larry Buchson, once again voiced their opposition to the rule. DeGette and Bucshon acknowledged that congressional inaction has left the FDA with few choices, but called again for passage of the Verifying Accurate, Leading-edge IVCT Development (VALID) Act, which they said is critical because “burdensome regulation of these medical products creates uncertainty in the future of innovation and patient care.”