Although FDA approvals in 2020 are falling just shy of records, the amount of regulatory news this year is more than twice the amount seen only four years ago and a 41% increase over that reported in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic accounts for roughly 14% of the total, but regardless, by all accounts, 2020 has been an excessively busy year for both the biopharma industry and regulatory agencies.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Abbott, Cerenion, Ecolab, Integrum, Occlutech.
The latest global regulatory news, changes and updates affecting medical devices and technologies, including: EPA posts ethylene oxide rule on OMB agenda; HHS announces sustained support for testing; FTC gives nod to Stryker/Wright deal.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Amgen, Antegene, Astrazeneca, Canbridge, Karyopharm, Novaremed, Novo Nordisk, Oyster Point, Polaryx, Synairgen.
Macrogenics Inc., which started the year with a pipeline prioritization, ends 2020 with its first FDA approval. The agency cleared its HER2-targeting Fc-engineered monoclonal antibody margetuximab in combination with chemotherapy for use in patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received two or more prior anti-HER2 regimens, at least one of which was for metastatic disease.
As expected, the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted near-unanimously on Dec. 17, with one abstention, that available evidence shows the benefits of Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, outweigh its risks for people 18 and older. The vote bolsters the likelihood that the regulator will grant the vaccine an emergency use authorization (EUA), which could come as soon as Friday. Not the same as an approval, the authorization would allow for the vaccine's use for the prevention of COVID-19 in the U.S. even as further trials and regulatory evaluation remains underway ahead of a company BLA submission.
The U.S. FDA granted a breakthrough device designation to Exero Medical Ltd.’s implantable smart sensor for early detection of anastomotic leaks after gastrointestinal (GI) surgery. The device continuously monitors the GI tract near the surgical site to alert providers about potentially deadly leaks.
As COVID-19 cases surge across the U.S., there is growing demand for greater access to testing to rein in the pandemic. On Wednesday, the U.S. FDA granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Abbott Laboratories for at-home use of the company’s Binaxnow COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test. Abbott has teamed up with Miami-based telehealth provider Emed to distribute and administer the tests, with an expected 30 million in the first quarter of 2021.
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