LONDON – It was third time lucky for Acacia Pharma Group plc, as the FDA finally gave approval to Barhemsys (amisulpride) as a rescue treatment for surgical patients suffering postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), despite standard-of-care treatment.

Citing what it called poor study design and execution coupled with a lack of follow-up data, the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 13-2 against recommending approval of Steba Biotech SA’s NDA for Tookad (padeliporfin dipotassium) for injection in men with localized early stage prostate cancer.

While the staff at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is currently all hands-on-deck in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, some of the agencies in the department may have to divert resources to get sponsors of drug and device clinical trials to fill in nearly a decade-long data gap on Clinicaltrials.gov. That’s if a judge’s decision handed down this week stands.

H. Lundbeck A/S’ antibody-based migraine therapy, Vyepti (eptinezumab-jjmr), which just received FDA approval as the first and only intravenous preventive treatment for adults, enters a market forecast to grow to $7 billion by 2027. While some analysts placed Vyepti’s earnings potential at about $800 million annually, the drug itself is positioned to become a possible blockbuster, earning $1 billion annually.

Valrox (valoctocogene roxaparvovec) from San Rafael Calif-based Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. moved one step closer to entering the U.S. market, with the company reporting that that the FDA had accepted for priority review the BLA for its investigational AAV5 gene therapy for adults with hemophilia A.

During a conference call with investors, Baudax Bio Inc. CEO Gerri Henwood let out an exuberant “woohoo!” to celebrate the FDA’s approval – after two turndowns and much haggling over data – of Anjeso (meloxicam) for moderate to severe pain. Echoing her sentiment was Piper Sandler analyst David Amsellem. “It’s nice to see the pain division finally get this one right,” he said.