Providing the right therapy at the right time has proven more difficult in the world of cancer than in other disease areas thanks to the variability in treatment response, but a new study hints that this problem may be at least partly solved for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A study presented at this year’s meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in San Diego shows that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can provide therapeutic guidelines for oligometastatic forms of the disease, including when high-dose radiation therapy may or may not be indicated.
Neve Ilan, Israel-based Nano-X Imaging Ltd., had rocked the world of medical imaging with promises of X-ray imaging systems that provide low-cost tomosynthesis, but the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says the company overpromised on the low-cost claim. The SEC said the actual production cost of the Nano-X ARC systems is at least double the $12,000 per-unit figure routinely touted by the company’s former CEO, Ran Poliakine, a factual misrepresentation that helped the company raise $165 million in an initial public offering.
Patients with metastatic brain tumors are among the most desperate of patients for at least a modestly effective treatment let alone a cure, and GT Medical Technologies Inc., of Tempe, Ariz., reported the interim findings from a study of 48 patients suffering from a total of 51 brain metastases. Four-month data from this study demonstrate that implant of the Gammatile device is safe as demonstrated by the lack of adverse events, and these results combined with other data suggest that this device can offer this patient population real hope of surviving one of the deadliest series of afflictions known to humankind.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported on October 2 that Genomic Health Inc. (GHI), now a subsidiary of Exact Sciences Corp., has agreed to pay $32.5 million to settle allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act (FCA). The allegations include that GHI had manipulated the dates upon which a test was administered in order to boost revenues from public health programs, an activity that ended up costing the company double damages.
The U.S. FDA has finally let fly with a draft rule for regulation of lab-developed tests (LDTs), an 83-page document that delves into the legal controversies regarding whether the agency has the requisite statutory authority. However, Allyson Mullen, a director in the D.C. office of Hyman, Phelps & McNamara P.C., told BioWorld that the emergence of this draft rule doesn’t mean Congress won’t eventually be dragged back into the LDT fray, particularly if stakeholders litigate to overturn the draft.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) reported the opening of a series of regional offices that focus on both administrative and research assignments, a development that may bolster cures and treatments for tough-to-treat conditions. However, the U.S. House and Senate have different ideas about how much money the agency will receive in 2024, casting a cloud of uncertainty over how many projects the agency will be able to finance in the twelve months that will start on Oct. 1, 2023.
The U.S. FDA may be the most prominent agency in the federal government when it comes to the use of real-world data (RWD), but the National Institutes of Health is keen to immerse itself in this trove of information. The agency has made a request for public comment on how NIH centers can best leverage RWD for biomedical and behavioral research, although some ethical and practical considerations may have to be overcome.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) reported the opening of a series of regional offices that focus on both administrative and research assignments, a development that may bolster cures and treatments for tough-to-treat conditions. However, the U.S. House and Senate have different ideas about how much money the agency will receive in 2024, casting a cloud of uncertainty over how many projects the agency will be able to finance in the twelve months that will start on Oct. 1, 2023.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued the final order concluding an action against Baxter International Inc. over the company’s use of accounting mechanisms to produce gains by manipulating foreign exchange transactions. While these activities are said to have been undertaken entirely at the behest of only two employees, the agreement will cost Baxter $18 million and serves as a cautionary tale about a lack of supervision of employees charged with managing company funds.
The U.S. FDA recently convened an advisory hearing to discuss whether three in vitro diagnostics should be reclassified from class III to class II, including tests for the pathogens responsible for Hepatitis B and tuberculosis. The panel agreed that all three of the test types should be reshuffled to the lower-risk class II category, suggesting that test developers now have an opportunity to jump into a market with lower-cost tests that won’t need expensive and drawn-out clinical studies to obtain the FDA’s seal of approval.
