The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended 17 drugs for approval at its December meeting, bringing the total for 2024 to 114. That is up from the 77 drugs recommended for approval in 2023, of which 39 were novel.
After Keros Therapeutics Inc.’s voluntary halt of dosing in two arms of its phase II study in pulmonary arterial hypertension, the company’s stock crumpled after a year of muscular performance and its recent and massive deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
Nearly three years after being terminated as president and CEO of Cytodyn Inc., Nader Pourhassan was convicted June 9 by a U.S. federal jury for his role in a securities fraud scheme to deceive investors about the Vancouver, Wash.-based company’s development of leronlimab. The jury also convicted Kazem Kazempour, the CEO of Amarex Clinical Research LLC, a contract research organization hired by Cytodyn, for his part in the scheme.
The U.S. SEC filed charges against David Banister and The Market Analysts Group LLC, which Banister controls, alleging that they conducted a fraudulent scheme to promote long-term investment in Biovie Inc. without disclosing that Banister was actively selling his own shares in the biopharma company.
Bionomics is progressing BNC-210 to phase III trials in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following positive feedback from the U.S. FDA. Final data from the phase II Attune study showed that BNC-210 improved PTSD symptom severity at week 12 with efficacy observed as early as week four.
If a bipartisan group of U.S. House members has its way, at least some of the legislation congressional committees have passed to target pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices could yet make it into law this year. That is if congressional leaders listen to the rank-and-file members.
The U.S. FDA has greenlit the first steps of Uniqure NV’s accelerated approval pathway for gene therapy AMT-130 to treat Huntington’s disease. The agency said data from the ongoing phase I/II studies compared to natural history external control are muscular enough to get the process going without having to dive into additional studies.
In a surprise move that drove its stock up by 292% in early trading, Chimerix Inc. revealed plans for a U.S. NDA filing by year-end, seeking accelerated approval of dordaviprone (ONC-201) to treat recurrent H3 K27M-mutant diffuse glioma, a highly aggressive tumor with limited treatment options.
The Biosecure Act missed its expected ride through the U.S. Congress via the National Defense Authorization Act, but it may not be the end of the road for the bill that would prohibit direct or indirect U.S. government contracts with listed “biotechnology companies of concern.”
The FDA’s final guidance for predetermined change control plans (PCCPs) for AI products contains a number of editorial changes, some more significant than others.