Four years after the U.S. FDA issued a complete response letter for Spero Therapeutics Inc.’s oral antibiotic, tebipenem pivoxil hydrobromide, to treat complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including pyelonephritis, the agency approved the drug based on phase III data showing noninferiority to intravenous imipenem-cilastatin.
The U.S. FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously in favor of Moderna Inc.’s trivalent mRNA flu vaccine, mRNA-1010, which the company wants to brand as Mflusiva. On the question of whether the benefits of the product outweigh the risks in people ages 50 to 64, balloting was 9-0, and on whether the same is true in those 65 and older, the tally was again 9-0.
In a little more than a month, 17 big biopharma companies will be subject to U.S. President Donald Trump’s long-promised section 232 global biopharma sector tariff. But instead of paying the 100% duty on imported patented drugs and their key ingredients, most of those companies, if not all, will pay much reduced rates or no tariff at all, based on where the imports are coming from, what type of drug is being imported, and whether the companies have signed onshoring and most-favored-nation pricing agreements with the administration.
Another day, another about-face by the U.S. FDA on Uniqure NV’s Huntington’s disease gene therapy. But this latest shift brings good news for the company’s AMT-130, for which the FDA says three-year analysis data from the phase I/II study will be acceptable for an accelerated BLA filing, now expected to be submitted in the third quarter.
On the eve of the June 17 Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meeting, which will discuss Moderna Inc.’s mRNA-1010, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have reported that the vaccine conferred broader and more durable protection than a standard flu shot.
The EMA’s 2025 annual report highlights the pressure it is under to streamline and simplify assessment processes, and the expanded – and explicit – role the agency now has in boosting the competitive position of the EU in the development and manufacturing of drugs.
Moderna Inc. will soon find out if the tumult-ridden U.S. FDA’s switcheroo in mid-February will stick regarding mRNA-1010, a prospective new seasonal influenza vaccine. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on June 17 takes up the matter of the shot, which trails a curious history.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule June 12 that would codify the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, establish new negotiation and drug benefit policies, and modify the fixed combination drug policy – the latter of which would negatively impact biopharmas attempting to extend lifecycles of blockbuster products.
Despite some back-and-forth with the U.S. FDA regarding inclusion in the somewhat controversial Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher (CNPV) program, Sanofi SA’s Tzield (teplizumab) gained FDA clearance, expanding use of the CD3-directed monoclonal antibody as a disease-modifying therapy for patients with recently diagnosed stage 3 type 1 diabetes (T1D).
In a repeat move, the U.S. FDA issued yet again a complete response letter (CRL) to Camurus AB for its subcutaneous extended-release injection drug CAM-2029 (octreotide) to treat the rare chronic growth disorder acromegaly. The drug, which expects to be branded Oclaiz in the U.S. upon approval, is called Oczyesa in the EU and the U.K., where it received marketing authorization in 2025.