Following initial approvals for rheumatic diseases, Bristol Myers Squibb Co.'s Orencia (abatacept) has become the first FDA-approved drug for the prevention of acute graft-vs.-host disease (aGVHD), in combination with calcineurin inhibitors and methotrexate, both types of immunosuppressants.

With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) imposing stricter regulatory requirements on listing companies, more Chinese companies are likely to decide to list on stock exchanges closer to home.

Clinical trial fraud has not been on the radar screen for drug and device makers in recent years, but there have been several episodes in which the operators of clinical trial sites had fabricated data for clinical trials. U.S. deputy assistant attorney general Arun Rao said recently that clinical trial fraud is now front and center for federal attorneys, raising the risk that any documentation errors for clinical trials will create a massive liability for the sponsor.

The FDA has granted approval to Urotronic Inc. for its Optilume urethral drug-coated balloon (DCB) for the treatment of male urethral strictures. The device inhibits new scar tissue growth that may form after endoscopic dilations via the controlled release of paclitaxel, an antiproliferative that inhibits scar tissue formation.

Rnaimmune Inc., which in April raised a $10 million seed round to support its discovery and development of RNAi therapies, said it is now studying the neutralizing effects of its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate on the Omicron variant.

With 2021 coming to a close in just a few weeks, the U.S. FDA is racing to release the guidances it planned to get out the door this year. The regulator issued two draft guidances Dec. 7 detailing key clinical and production considerations to support applications for “N of 1,” or single-subject, clinical trials and drug development programs for severely debilitating or life-threatening diseases.

Two reports, one from Democrats and one from Republicans, point fingers at the reasons prescription drug prices have risen so dramatically. Both came at a time when President Joe Biden wants to change the way drug prices are determined.

The controversial approval of Biogen Inc.’s Aduhelm (aducanumab) in June sharply increased the interest in developing a quick, painless method of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Now, more than half a dozen blood-based diagnostic assays are in development and one is commercially available, albeit without FDA clearance.

Makers of vitro diagnostics (IVDs) are facing several significant challenges in the next few years, thanks to existing and impending revisions to a number of regulatory frameworks. There are other considerations that are adding to the headwinds, such as a poor patent protection environment in the U.S., the net effect of which is to make life unusually miserable for developers of these tests.