Samsung Biologics Co. Ltd. plans to establish a new holding company and to spin off its biosimilar division, Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd., by October. The corporate restructuring will draw clear lines between Samsung Biologics’ CDMO operations and Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilar business.
A former board member of Chinook Therapeutics Inc. and four others were charged May 22 in a 19-count indictment stemming from an alleged insider trading scheme that produced more than $600,000 in profits after the June 2023 announcement that Novartis AG was acquiring the Seattle-based Chinook in a $3.5 billion deal.
The U.S. FDA approved Phraxis Inc.’s Endoforce Connector for endovascular venous anastomosis, which eliminates the need for surgical dissection for individuals undergoing hemodialysis for kidney failure. The device is designed to reduce tissue trauma and improve long-term graft performance.
The Trump administration nominated John Squires of the firm of Dilworth Paxson to take the post of director of the Patent and Trademark Office, but the appointment faces a few hurdles.
GSK plc’s Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin) is heading back to the market three years after being withdrawn, with the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommending approval of the antibody-drug conjugate in combination therapy for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
It’s been nearly five years since the U.S. FDA, under the first Trump administration, issued a final rule and guidance on state importation plans (SIP) for importing less expensive prescription drugs from Canada. Yet only one state, Florida, has an approved SIP. In hopes of adding to that number, the FDA is enhancing its drug importation program to ease the way for states and tribes to bring prescription medicines in from Canada, at Canadian prices.
Avenzo Therapeutics Inc. has announced IND clearance by the FDA for AVZO-1418 (DB-1418), an EGFR/HER3 bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). A first-in-human phase I/II study will begin later this year and will evaluate AVZO-1418 as a single agent and in combination therapy in patients with advanced solid tumors.
The recent emphasis on eliminating animal studies for preclinical studies of U.S. FDA-regulated products amplifies a long-standing concern, but the U.S. Government Accountability Office raised the question of whether organ-on-a-chip methods are ready to fill the gap.
U.S. FDA commissioner Marty Makary appeared at the May 22 Senate Appropriations Committee with the news the White House proposed an FDA budget for fiscal 2026 of $6.8 billion including user fees. This is a cut of 11.5% that will not likely go over well on Capitol Hill as the FY 2026 budget process unwinds.
Samsung Biologics Co. Ltd. plans to establish a new holding company and to spin off its biosimilar division, Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd., by October. The corporate restructuring will draw clear lines between Samsung Biologics’ CDMO operations and Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilar business.