Even as the Biden administration pushes for drug imports from Canada as a way to help curb U.S. prescription drug prices, Canada is doubling down on its efforts to protect its supply of drugs and medical devices.
In a precedential opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court’s conclusion that Belcher Pharmaceuticals LLC’s chief science officer engaged in inequitable conduct by withholding material information from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during prosecution of Belcher’s 9,283,197 patent.
Now that the U.S. judge overseeing Purdue Pharma LP’s bankruptcy proceedings has conditionally signed off on a $10 billion settlement intended to resolve 3,000 opioid lawsuits filed by states, tribes and local governments, the privately owned drugmaker can take the first steps to transform itself into a public service company owned mostly by the National Opioid Abatement Trust and governed by a new independent board.
The Biden administration’s plan to roll out COVID-19 boosters by Sept. 20 could get pushed back – pending the outcome of an FDA advisory committee meeting and how quickly the FDA acts on the adcom’s recommendation. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Research and Evaluation, announced Sept. 1 that the agency will convene its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee for a virtual meeting Sept. 17.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Coherus, Entos, Harbour, Innovative Cellular, Janssen, Junshi, Medincell, Merck, Neuren, Teva.
Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s Opdivo (nivolumab) is now the first and only immunotherapy for the first-line treatment of advanced gastric cancer in China.
In another cautionary tale for JAK inhibitors, the U.S. FDA is requiring updated boxed warnings for three drugs in the class that are approved to treat inflammatory conditions – Pfizer Inc.’s Xeljanz/Xeljanz XR (tofacitinib), Eli Lilly and Co.’s Olumiant (baricitinib) and Abbvie Inc.’s Rinvoq (upadacitinib).
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Amylyx, ANI, Genhouse, Gloria, Huya, Innocare, Jazz, Ligand, Medipharm, Medivir, Merz.
U.S. Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland has rescinded two important policy documents, including the Brand memo, which limited the ability of federal prosecutors to use non-compliance with federal agency guidance as proof of violations of the law. The rescission of these memos increases the risk that drug and device companies will be prosecuted more vigorously due to deviation from FDA guidance documents, which at times conflict with other guidances and thus may create a series of nearly unavoidable compliance failures.
Although COVID-19 is still dictating how things are done in the U.S. and throughout the world, the FDA looked beyond the pandemic in an update to its guidance on conducting clinical trials of medical products during the public health emergency.
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