Less than two weeks after getting a thumbs-up from the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, Santhera Pharmaceutical AG’s vamorolone secured U.S. FDA approval for use in patients, 2 and older, with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). A first-in-class drug, vamorolone, branded Agamree, is expected to offer a safer alternative to the steroid therapy, which the company has said will remain a foundational treatment of DMD, even with the introduction of gene therapies.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Cordance, Exatech.
After a delay caused by the April complete response letter from the U.S. FDA for Eli Lilly and Co.’s Omvoh (mirikizumab-mrkz), regulators cleared the drug for moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) in adults. Given by infusion (300 mg/15 mL)/injection (100 mg/mL), Omvoh stands as the first and only interleukin (IL)-23p19 antagonist for the treatment of moderately to severely active UC in adults – as well as the pharma giant’s first drug approval in the space.
The FDA has accepted Mustang Bio Inc.’s IND application of MB-109 for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) and high-grade astrocytoma. MB-109 is a treatment regimen combining MB-101 (City of Hope-developed IL13Rα2‐targeted CAR T-cell therapy) and MB-108 (Nationwide Children’s Hospital-developed HSV-1 oncolytic virus).
In a show of bipartisan solidarity, members of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging voiced their support Oct. 26 for a new regulatory pathway to quicken access to new drugs for rare diseases that have no approved treatments.
Singapore’s Health Science Authority is rolling out new drug substance evidence requirements following consultations with stakeholders, and drugmakers will have one year to comply with the new regulations.
Virtually all regulatory systems present at least some ambiguity as to the respective regulatory status of software when installed in hardware for medical purposes, and the European Commission’s (EC’s) Medical Device Coordination Group (MDCG) has attempted to provide clarity on these questions.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Concordance Medical, Edwards Lifesciences, Enterra Medical, Eosolutions, Jinghao Medical.