It’s not surprising that, of all the recommendations the U.S. CDC’s vaccine advisory board made at its June meeting, the first one Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy signed off on would essentially remove thimerosal from influenza vaccines in the U.S. What is surprising is the time it took for him to do so, given his long-held position on the preservative used in multidose vials and his insistence that a thimerosal presentation and vote be added to the agenda.
Abivax SA is positioning to change the treatment landscape in ulcerative colitis after delivering positive results and a favorable safety profile in two phase III trials of its orally available miRNA-124 enhancer, obefazimod. Abivax stock rocketed in Europe and the U.S. on news of the data. Shares (Paris:ABVX) rose €45.40, or 510%, to close at €54.30 July 23. In the U.S., shares (NASDAQ:ABVX) leapt 586%, or $58.60, to close at $68.60.
The U.S. organ donation system is once again under pressure from both the executive and legislative branches thanks to media reports detailing an instance in which a surgeon refused to harvest organs from a potential donor who had not expired.
Plexāā Ltd. recently raised $4.5 million to support the upcoming U.S. launch of Bloom43, its wearable device that helps patients prepare for breast cancer surgery and reconstruction by using a technique called supraphysiological preconditioning.
In a 10-1 vote, the U.S. FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee said Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s studies of its combination post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment did not show enough efficacy. Had the adcom felt otherwise, the path may have been smoother for a new treatment in an indication that hasn’t seen regulatory advancement in decades. The committee’s conclusion, however, is not binding on the FDA, which will make its own decision whether to approve.
A glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor dual agonist developed by Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. and licensed by Kailera Therapeutics Inc. has shown a mean weight loss of 19.2% at the 6-mg dose with no plateau over 48 weeks in a phase III trial conducted in China.
In an about-face, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. said it would “voluntarily and temporarily” pause all shipments of Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy Elevidys (delandistrogene moxeparvovec) in the U.S. The move comes only a few days after the firm publicly declined a U.S. FDA request to halt shipping of the therapy in the wake of a third patient death, this one linked to a gene therapy using the same adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector as Elevidys.
Following up on the $175 million it raised in September 2023, Avalyn Pharma Inc. secured an additional $100 million in an oversubscribed series D financing round to support development of its inhaled treatments for pulmonary fibrosis.
There are a raft of problems the U.S. FDA wants resolved before Replimune Group Inc.’s BLA for RP-1 (vusolimogene oderparepvec) with nivolumab to treat advanced melanoma goes any further, all of which the company said are a surprise.
Globus Medical Inc. reported the departure of its president and CEO, but sought to quell any concerns about what his leaving augurs for the future of the company.
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