A congressional investigation into COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing failures at Emergent Biosolutions Inc. unveiled more troubling issues at the company’s Bayview facility in Baltimore, which had been awarded a lucrative U.S. government contract to produce vaccines for Johnson & Johnson.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Acer, Elpiscience, Logicbio, Resverlogix, Selection, Teva, Therapeutics Solutions.
The U.S. FDA’s efficacy bar for COVID-19 vaccines for the youngest children may be lower than the 50% required for the adult vaccines, according to Peter Marks, director of the agency’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.<
In a draft guidance released May 9, the U.S. FDA described the benefit-risk principles it uses when conducting quality-related assessments of chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) information submitted as part of a new drug application, biologics license application or supplement.
Even though at least two different U.S. district courts have ruled that the 340B enforcement letters the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration has sent to biopharma companies violate the Administrative Procedures Act, the agency continues to send the letters, along with threats of civil money penalties, to companies that place restrictions on the 340B discounts to contract pharmacies.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Johnson & Johnson, Myovant, Pfizer.
A risk of rare but potentially life-threatening blood clots in combination with low platelet levels after a jab of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine has convinced the U.S. FDA to limit its use. The vaccine is now authorized in the U.S. only for adults who wouldn't otherwise be vaccinated and those who can't or shouldn't, for medical reasons, get another approved vaccine. Through March 18, 2022, the FDA and CDC have identified 60 confirmed cases, including nine fatal cases of the condition, called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome – a rate of 3.23 cases per million doses of vaccine administered.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Astrazeneca, Bio Products, Daiichi, Incyte, Jiangsu Recbio, Kempharm, Moleculin, Newsoara, Palisade, Vistagen, Xortx.
The legislation that would reauthorize the U.S. FDA’s user fee programs is now in the works in the House of Representatives, but the legislation is fairly lean when considering the number of issues facing the agency.
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) were in the spotlight at a May 5 U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on fairness and transparency in the prescription drug market, but lawmakers indicated they need to turn up the klieg lights of the FTC to penetrate the black box of PBM operations.