Beginning July 1, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration will allow medicines containing the psychedelic substances psilocybin and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine) to be prescribed by authorized psychiatrists for certain mental health conditions.
Any decision on whether to expand a five-year World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines to diagnostics and therapies likely will be delayed longer than proponents had hoped. WTO members originally were scheduled to vote on expanding the waiver in December, but the deadline was extended indefinitely when key members, including the U.S., pushed for a delay.
Changchun Bcht Biotechnology Co. Ltd. has obtained marketing approval for its live attenuated zoster vaccine in China, making it the first approved shingles vaccine developed by a Chinese company. An injectable of 0.5 ml per dose, it is designed for adults ages 40 and older and will go up against GSK plc’s Shingrix vaccine.
The ruling Communist Party of China increasingly views intellectual property (IP) through a national security lens, and generally accepted concepts of IP as a private right and respect for the rule of law don’t always apply as China prioritizes its pursuit of global technology dominance.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Dia Imaging Analysis, Northeast Scientific, Vero Biotech.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Accutar, Biogen, Bioxytran, Egret, Endogena, Gilead, Hinova, Inmagene, Neogap, Neurosense, Sage, Sandoz, Takeda.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has sounded off again about the ability of other federal government agencies to respond to future crises and pandemics, arguing that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has not forged a comprehensive assessment mechanism to account for the associated medical countermeasure production needs. However, GAO also remarked that HHS does not have a dedicated funding mechanism to finance these activities, a resource that might not become available until after HHS officials draft a budget for the activities associated with such efforts for congressional review.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported the withdrawal of three legacy enforcement policies related to health care, including a 1996 policy that allowed hospitals to share the cost of capital equipment such as MRI systems. The announcement would seem to jeopardize the ability of smaller hospitals and other health care clinical sites to share the cost of these and other examples of costly, high-end equipment, but the damage may not stop there, thanks to the elimination of policies regarding medical information sharing that could impede medical research.
Varian’s Halcyon and Ethos radiotherapy systems received two regulatory nods in short succession, with both U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance and CE marking. In addition, the company reported that the first patient in the world underwent treatment with a Halcyon system with Hypersight last week.
In preparing for their showdown before the U.S. Supreme Court March 27 on what it takes to enable broad genus claims, both Sanofi SA and Amgen Inc. are warning that future innovation will be at stake if the court accepts the other company’s position.
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