While it continues to deny all kickback allegations raised in a whistleblower suit filed seven years ago, Biogen Inc. agreed Sept. 26 to pay $900 million to resolve claims that it paid doctors in the U.S. to prescribe its multiple sclerosis drugs from 2009 through March 2014.
The U.S. FDA approved Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s and UBE Industries Ltd.’s Omlonti (omidenepag isopropyl) ophthalmic solution for reducing elevated intraocular pressure in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. It is the second FDA-approved product from Japan-based Santen in the last 15 months for patients in the U.S. with vision conditions.
Inspectors from the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) have reportedly arrived in Hong Kong to inspect audit records for the Chinese companies listed by the U.S. SEC as being noncompliant with U.S. accounting standards.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.’s Ezharmia (valemetostat tosilate), the first dual inhibitor of histone methyltransferases EZH1 and EZH2 for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory adult T-cell leukemia and lymphoma. It’s Daiichi Sankyo’s fifth new oncology medicine approved in Japan in the past three years.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Aqualung, Atea, Catalym, Everest, Pfizer, Y-mabs.
Legislation to reauthorize a number of U.S. FDA user fee programs has once again languished until the 11th hour, but the House and Senate committees of jurisdiction have apparently come to terms over the matter. However, the parties to this deal are characterizing it as a “clean” bill, which suggests that FDA regulation of lab-developed tests (LDTs) and a center of drug manufacturing of excellence will have to wait for another day or – because of the upcoming mid-term elections – most likely another year.
Clearpoint Neuro Inc. said Clinical Laserthermia Systems AB (CLS), snared a 510(k) from the FDA for a laser interstitial therapy system that will be marketed in the U.S. as part of the Clearpoint Prism Neuro system. This product package adds to a growing Clearpoint footprint in the neurological disorders space, adding to an inventory that already consists of targeted drug delivery and deep brain stimulation systems.
In recent years, ethicists have executed a 180-degree shift on including children in clinical trials testing drugs, biologics and medical devices, moving from the idea that it was unethical to include youngsters in trials to an understanding that such inclusion may be the best way of protecting them.
The race to become the first microbiome-based therapy to reach the market continues between two companies. A positive view by the U.S. FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on Sept. 22 for RBX-2660 in preventing recurrent Clostridium difficile infection kept Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s microbiota-based live biotherapeutic moving forward.
Valneva SE is approaching a crucial point with its troubled efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, having announced Sept. 26 it’s in talks with a potential partner for its next-generation jab. The company cautioned the negotiations could take several months and may not succeed. The company’s problems with its COVID-19 vaccine, which is based on an inactivated whole virus, have weighed on its shares (Paris:VLA), which collapsed from a 52-week high of more than €29 (US$28.29) in December 2021 to €5.74 at the close of trading Sept. 26.
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