Should Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine be a two-dose series? While not directly asked, that question almost lurks between the lines of the FDA’s briefing document for the Oct. 15 meeting of its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. The document referred to J&J’s proposed second dose as a “booster,” but the FDA isn’t asking the committee the questions it posed for the Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE boosters. Instead, it is inviting VRBPAC to advise on whether the second J&J dose should be administered two months or six months following the first shot.
In addition to the four COVID-19 vaccines it has provisionally approved, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is recommending that two more vaccines – Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s Coronavac and Astrazeneca plc-Serum Institute of India’s Covishield – be considered “recognized vaccines.”
In addition to the four COVID-19 vaccines it has provisionally approved, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is recommending that two more vaccines – Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s Coronavac and Astrazeneca plc-Serum Institute of India’s Covishield – be considered “recognized vaccines.”
Australia’s TGA provided updates regarding up-classification of several device types, including a number of spinal implants, which will henceforth be regulated as high-risk, class III devices, rather than medium-to-high risk devices (class IIb).
PERTH, Australia – As Australia prepares to reopen the country after strict lockdown measures, the TGA is making a new regulation to allow companies to supply their COVID-19 rapid antigen self-tests for home use beginning Nov. 1. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel for Australians on a number of fronts,” said Health Minister Greg Hunt in a Sept. 28 press conference.
The COVID-19 pandemic is still swirling about, and rapid antigen tests are still playing a vital role in pushing back against the COVID-19 pandemic, and Australia’s TGA has responded with a guidance on when software used with rapid antigen tests qualifies as a regulated device. The TGA has classified such software as a class 3 device when used with a rapid antigen self-test, thus requiring a separate regulatory application before it can be eligible for entry in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).
PERTH, Australia – Changes to Australia’s medical device requirements have resulted in certain devices no longer requiring TGA conformity assessment certification, including class IV in vitro diagnostics (IVDs). As of July 23, 2021, devices that contain drugs or materials of animal, microbial, recombinant or human origin no longer require mandatory TGA conformity assessment certification. Instead, sponsors of these devices will be able to provide conformity assessment documents issued by notified bodies designated by a European Union member state to support their applications on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).
Given the ethics and feasibility of placebo-controlled COVID-19 vaccine trials, Access Consortium members are recognizing appropriately designed immunobridging studies as an acceptable approach for authorizing the vaccines, including those being developed to protect against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
PERTH, Australia – Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has initiated proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Medtronic Australasia Pty Ltd. for alleged unlawful supply of its Infuse bone graft kit, which contains a medicine and other components to stimulate bone growth in patients.
PERTH, Australia – As the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 sweeps across the globe, drugs like Roche Holding AG’s interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor Actemra (tocilizumab) are being used, often off-label, to treat serious cases of COVID-19. That usage, however, is resulting in serious drug shortages that may leave some without treatment options.
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