"Now is the time to discuss the need for future boosters as we aim to move forward safely, with COVID-19 becoming a virus like others such as influenza that we prepare for, protect against and treat,” the FDA’s Peter Marks said in announcing an April 6 virtual meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC).
Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s relatlimab will hit the market as the first U.S. FDA-approved LAG-3 inhibitor, cleared by the agency for use in a fixed-dose combination with Opdivo (nivolumab) to treat adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. The approval, a day ahead of the March 19 FDA target date, adds another type of immune checkpoint inhibitor to the oncology arsenal, which already includes drugs targeting PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA4.
Former JHL Biotech Inc. CEO Racho Jordanov and former Chief Operating Officer Rose Lin were sentenced for their respective roles in conspiring to commit trade secret theft and wire fraud exceeding $101 million.
Despite global drops in COVID-19 infections and because variants never rest, Eiger Biopharmaceuticals Inc. is taking its strong top-line phase III data of pegylated interferon lambda to global regulatory agencies for approval. The type III interferon that stimulates immune responses significantly reduced the risk of COVID-19-related hospitalizations or emergency room visits longer than six hours by 50% and death by 60%. The results prompted Eiger to say it would submit the data to the FDA for an emergency use authorization – and also to the EMA and Asian agencies – as soon as it could.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. has filed suits against both Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. over alleged infringements of its patent on biodegradable cationic lipids that it said "are foundational to the success of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines."
The FDA unloaded on Neurofield Inc. for misbranding of its products, which are only approved as class II biofeedback devices, as neurostimulation and electroencephalogram (EEG) signal processing devices. The warning letter called on “Neurofield to cease any activities that result in the adulteration or misbranding of the Neurofield X3000/X3000 Plus, Neurofield Q21, Neurofield64 and Neurofield EEG.”
Google Health is expanding the reach of its Care Studio technology to clinical software company Medical Information Technology Inc. (Meditech). The companies reported a partnership at HIMSS 2022 to integrate search functionalities from the Google product suite within Westwood, Mass.-based Meditech's web-based Expanse electronic health record (EHR). The aim is to combine data from different sources into a standard format and offer clinicians a full ‘holistic’ view of patient records.
With global COVID-19 cases on the rise once again, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said it reached consensus among four WTO members – the U.S., European Union, India and South Africa – for an IP waiver regarding vaccines, a proposal to which biopharma reiterated its objections. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the White House appealed to Congress to provide adequate funding to continue the country’s pandemic response, and Pfizer Inc. and Biontech SE submitted an application to the FDA seeking emergency use authorization for a fourth shot of its COVID-19 vaccine.
When it comes to lowering U.S. drug prices, Congress has a lot of options among the several bills that have been introduced in both the House and Senate over the years. But a deadlock between bipartisan measures and partisan proposals has reduced legislative action to mere talk. The deadlock, and the at times hyperbolic debate, continued in yet another congressional hearing March 16 on “the urgent need to lower drug prices in Medicare,” as the Senate Finance Committee billed it.
Three U.S.-listed China-based biopharmas were among five companies named this week by the U.S. SEC for reportedly failing to submit necessary accounting reports under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA).
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