Impulse Dynamics Inc. snared an affirmative Medicare coverage policy for its Optimizer cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) system, giving the company sole possession of the U.S. marketplace for this therapy at least for the time being.
The U.S. FDA’s Quality Management System Regulation (QMSR) is not technically in force until Feb. 2, 2026, but a new draft guidance from the agency’s device center seems to indicate that there is a strong element of retroactivity to the QMSR.
Celltrion Inc. announced Oct. 29 the signing of an $87.75 million joint drug R&D agreement with AI and spatial transcriptome-based biotech Portrai Inc.
The U.S. FDA has approved UCB SA’s Kygevvi (doxecitine and doxribtimine), the first treatment for the ultra-rare, genetic and life-threatening mitochondrial disease thymidine kinase 2 deficiency. The approval comes as the company reaps a reward of rebuilding and reorganizing that it began little more than a year ago.
Five-year follow-up data for Santhera Pharmaceuticals AG’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) drug, Agamree (vamorolone), confirm that its efficacy in preserving muscle function is comparable to standard-of-care corticosteroids, but that the overall side-effect profile is more benign. There was less positive DMD news from Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.
The Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization on Oct. 30 welcomed the bilateral trade deal between the U.S. and South Korea announced during U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju, South Korea.
The U.S. CMS has adopted an aggressive payment policy for skin substitutes in the Medicare physician fee schedule for 2026, although the payment rate is sufficiently higher than the agency had proposed to mollify some critics.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) said in a new report that the U.S. Medicare program had overpaid a group of providers of durable medical equipment (DME) by nearly $23 million between 2018 and 2024, an amount that is a significant drop from prior years, but which OIG said calls for further reforms for the Medicare DME program.
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Agency (MHRA) has committed to major reforms of how it regulates drugs for rare diseases, making it easier to run clinical trials and get approvals. The new rules will be published in full early in 2026 and come into effect later in the year, but following consultation with industry, academics and patients’ groups, the agency has released a position paper setting out its plans.
Uniqure NV is regrouping after a surprise switcheroo by the havoc-beset U.S. FDA regarding phase I/II studies with AMT-130 vs. external control in Huntington’s disease (HD) – news of which pushed down the Lexington, Mass.-based firm’s shares (NASDAQ:QURE) Nov. 3 by $33.40, a loss of 49%, at the closing price of $34.29.
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