Abbisko Therapeutics Co. Ltd. has received clearance from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to conduct clinical trials in China of ABSK-051, a novel small-molecule CD73 inhibitor, for advanced solid tumors.
The U.S. FDA approved Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s Fruzaqla (fruquintinib) nearly 20 days ahead of its Nov. 30 PDUFA date for adults with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer. “Fruzaqla is the first targeted therapy approved in the U.S. for mCRC regardless of biomarker status or prior types of therapies in more than a decade,” Stefanie Granado, head of Takeda’s U.S. Oncology business unit, told BioWorld.
Carrying through on a policy it adopted a few months ago to crack down on potentially anticompetitive FDA Orange Book listings, the U.S. FTC put 10 drug companies on notice that it’s challenging several of their “improperly or inaccurately listed” patents through the FDA’s regulatory dispute process.
A year-and-a-half after Eli Lilly and Co.’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide) gained U.S. FDA approval for adults with type 2 diabetes, the GLP-1 and GIP dual agonist was cleared for chronic weight management in adults who are obese or overweight and who also have one related condition.
Johnson & Johnson expects to submit the long-awaited Ottava robotic surgical system to the U.S. FDA for an investigational device exemption (IDE) in the second half of 2024, nearly three years later than the company anticipated when its Ethicon Inc. unit acquired Ottava along with Auris Health Inc. in 2019.
Grace Science LLC has received FDA clearance of its IND application for GS-100, an AAV9 gene replacement therapy for the treatment of NGLY1 deficiency.
Abbisko Therapeutics Co. Ltd. has received FDA clearance of its IND application for ABSK-012, a highly selective small-molecule inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4), for advanced solid tumors.
Multinational pharma companies like Moderna Inc. and Sanofi SA are setting up mRNA R&D centers in Australia and are banking on the country’s decades of mRNA expertise to bring new therapeutics to the clinic and to serve as regional hubs in Asia Pacific, speakers said during the Ausbiotech 2023 conference held Nov 1-3 in Brisbane, Australia.
In another step that blurs the distinction between biosimilars and interchangeables, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing a rule to give Medicare Part D plans more flexibility to substitute biosimilars for the reference biologics so Medicare beneficiaries can have timelier access to the lower-cost drugs. The rule would permit the plans to treat the biosimilar substitutions as “maintenance changes” that don’t require prior Medicare approval. Such changes would enable the substitutions to apply to all enrollees – and not just those who begin the therapy after the effective date of the change.