Following a better-than-expected commercial liftoff for the overactive bladder medicine Gemtesa (vibegron) in its first market, Japan, the Dec. 23 FDA approval for the medicine opens a new commercial chapter for Urovant Sciences, a company that’s on its way to being a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co. Ltd.'s Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd.
HONG KONG and BEIJING – China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. delayed releasing trial data from its Coronavac COVID-19 vaccine while the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) accepted an NDA from China National Biotec Group (CNBG) for its own vaccine, BBIBP-CorV.
HONG KONG – Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has received Chinese approval for Takhzyro (lanadelumab), its fully human monoclonal antibody, delivered via subcutaneous injection, for prophylaxis to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in patients 12 and older.
HONG KONG – Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. received approval from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) for an additional indication for its tyrosine kinase inhibitor, Cabometyx (cabozantinib), clearing the firm to manufacture and market 20-mg and 60-mg tablets for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma that has progressed after prior systemic therapy.
LONDON – The first of 800,000 commercial doses of Pfizer Inc./Biontech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the U.K., after the Medicines and Healthcare products Agency (MHRA) became the first regulator to grant conditional approval. A total of 1,500 immunization centers in the U.K. are preparing to receive the vaccine, with administration beginning Dec. 8.
The latest global regulatory news, changes and updates affecting biopharma, including: DEA gets on board with partial Rx fills; USPTO touts early results of amendment pilot; FDA posts combo product feedback final guidance.
TOKYO – Steadily over a decade and a half, Japan’s drugs and devices regulator has all but eliminated a huge drug lag that put the second largest drug market in the world well behind most others in terms of the time it took for approvals and patient access to innovative drugs.
Moderna Inc., late on Nov. 30, said it has asked the FDA to bless emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273 after phase III data confirmed it to be 94.1% effective in preventing symptomatic cases of the disease and 100% effective in preventing severe cases. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company said efficacy was "consistent across age, race and ethnicity and gender demographics."
PERTH, Australia – Mesoblast Ltd. inked an exclusive global licensing deal with Novartis AG for the development, manufacture and commercialization of Mesoblast’s mesenchymal stromal cell product remestemcel-L, with an initial focus on the acute respiratory distress syndrome, including that associated with COVID-19, just six weeks after the FDA issued a complete response letter for the therapy as a treatment for steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease.
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