The U.S. FDA’s device guidance drought ended with the issuance of one draft and one final guidance, the latter of which deals with the Q-sub program for early interaction with sponsors of device applications. Per a request by industry, the agency indicated it is amenable to including FDA policy staff during these meetings, which may help to avoid surprises in premarket applications.
The funding boost Moderna Inc. had expected via a roughly $590 million Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority award now looks to be off the table. The company disclosed May 28 that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it will terminate the award for late-stage development and right to purchase pre-pandemic influenza vaccines.
Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. and Merck & Co. Inc. have voluntarily pulled the BLA for accelerated approval tied to their HER3-directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) in treating EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer. The partnership in the expanding ADC space began nearly two years ago in a $22 billion deal.
A court decision blocking President Donald Trump’s reciprocal and trafficking tariffs was hardly a day old before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stepped in late May 29 to grant a temporary stay while it considers the administration’s appeal. The stay adds further uncertainty to the path ahead for drug and device companies.
Developing a therapy for an ultra-rare condition has its challenges, including finding enough patients for clinical enrollment and convincing regulatory authorities that limited data prove the candidate is safe and effective. For that reason, Stealth Biotherapeutics Inc. has faced numerous roadblocks getting its mitochondria-targeting elamipretide across the finish line for Barth syndrome, a condition that affects about 230 to 250 males worldwide, including fewer than 150 in the U.S.
Kexing Biopharm Co. Ltd. has announced IND clearances this month by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the U.S. FDA for GB-18, a biologic product for the treatment of cancer cachexia.
The doctrine of inherent disclosure is not one of the more common methods for invalidating patent claims, but this doctrine led the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to declare that several claims found in a patent held by Carl Zeiss X-Ray Microscopy Inc. are invalid.
The U.S. FDA issued general correspondence letters to two device testing labs located in China. This is the latest in a series of moves by the agency to crack down on falsified or otherwise invalid device testing data.
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is asking for help in its search for “freeloaders” that refuse to shoulder their share of the cost of biopharma R&D.
The U.S. Department of Justice arrested two men in connection with fraudulently billing the Medicare program for COVID-19 tests, some of which were billed for deceased beneficiaries. The case is notable for its use of foreign nationals recruited to set up non-existent labs to file the claims, seeming to signal a new front in efforts to corral Medicare fraud in the U.S.
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