Context Therapeutics Inc. has received FDA clearance of its IND application for CTIM-76, a Claudin 6 (CLDN6) x CD3 T-cell engaging bispecific antibody.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized its overhaul of the health breach notification rule (HBNR), significantly expanding the types of software products subject to the agency’s oversight. However, the final rule was approved by the commission by a narrow 3-2 vote and was the subject of a scathing critique by the two dissenting commissioners, who argued that the FTC has once again exceeded its statutory authority in rewriting the HBNR.

The U.S. FDA issued a handful of warning letters to device makers in the month of April 2024, one of which is for the Waukegan, Il., plant operated by Cardinal Health Inc., of Dublin, Ohio. While the Waukegan plant escaped citations for most routine Quality System Regulation deviations, the FDA said Cardinal’s handling of contract manufactured luer locks and syringes fell well short of the agency’s expectations given that these issues led to a massive recall, a product removal and an FDA advisory.

Medtronic plc said it secured U.S. FDA approval for its first closed-loop spinal cord stimulator (SCS), designed to take in signals from the body and adjust its therapy automatically.

Epitel Inc. received U.S. FDA clearances for two epilepsy-focused technologies that simplify detection and analysis of seizures in patients with suspected epilepsy. The Remi remote electroencephalogram monitoring system is a wearable device that allows patients to continue with their daily activities for extended periods without the restrictions of wires, while still capturing intermittent seizures. The Remi Vigilenz artificial intelligence system uses machine learning to identify and note seizure events in the Remi EEG records.

The U.S. FDA’s senior managers often lament the lack of routine increases in taxpayer funding, a concern that Michael Rogers, the associate FDA commissioner for regulatory affairs, reiterated during a May 1 webinar. Rogers said the agency’s field inspectorate will be working through a large number of retirements over the next few years, a predicament he said will continue to be “a huge challenge” to overcome.

The U.S. government chalked up another win April 29 against the constitutional challenges to the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision mandating direct Medicare price negotiations for selected prescription drugs.