Targeting NMDA in mental health has chalked wins but not universally, as shown by Sage Therapeutics Inc.’s failure of the placebo-controlled phase II Lightwave study testing dalzanemdor in Alzheimer's disease, which missed the primary outcome measure, another bit of bad luck from the company that was disclosed Oct. 8.
Preliminary results from a trial demonstrated that Science Corp.’s Prima retina implant restored ‘form vision,’ including the ability to read in patients with vision loss. Originally developed at Stanford University and then advanced by Pixium Vision SA, Prima received U.S. FDA breakthrough device designation in April 2023.
The U.S. FDA declared that Michelle Tarver is the permanent replacement for Jeff Shuren as the director of the agency’s device center. The news is hardly a surprise as Shuren confirmed the appointment in an October 2024 public meeting.
Baxter International Inc., whose North Cove manufacturing site in Marion, North Carolina, was significantly impacted by the rain and storm surge from Hurricane Helene – including flooding of the facility – in September, reported that restoring the physical facilities has exceeded its expectations, with meaningful advances in site cleanup and remediation.
U.S. biotechs and regulators ushered in the era of gene therapy in 2023, experts at Bio Japan said, but medical reform is needed to pave the way for the “year of cell therapy” in 2024 and implement wider access to ultra-expensive cell and gene therapies.
Astellas Pharma Inc. gained U.S. FDA approval of first-in-class claudin 18.2-targeted treatment Vyloy (zolbetuximab-clzb), now indicated as a first-line therapy for adults with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.
Legislation that would give the U.S. government a cut of some big pharma profits has once again surfaced in Congress. First introduced in the 114th Congress and every Congress since, the Medical Innovation Act was reintroduced Oct. 18 as a way to tap into the profits of some large biopharma companies to augment research dollars at the FDA and NIH for future drugs and diagnostics, as well as for regulatory science and to support early career scientists.
The U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in the case of Loper Bright continues to reverberate across the legal landscape, including in the realm of False Claims Act litigation.
The U.S. FDA urged doctors and patients to use CT imaging if possible, when the MRI compatibility of any electronic implanted devices is unknown because problems with CT imaging are "extremely low" in these circumstances.
Boston Scientific Corp. racked up a two-fer from the U.S. FDA with approval of its navigation-enabled Farawave Nav ablation catheter and 510(k) clearance for the Faraview software for use with its Farapulse pulsed field ablation (PFA) system.