Novocure GmbH secured U.S. FDA approval for Optune Lua, a wearable device that delivers alternating electric fields or tumor treating fields that kill cancer cells. Indicated for use with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors or docetaxel in the second or subsequent line for the treatment of metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer following the failure of platinum-based regimens, the approval was driven by the significant improvement in overall survival rates seen in the LUNAR pivotal study for Optune Lua.
The U.S. Medicare program has a notorious problem with regard to coverage of digital products and software as a service, but the agency is dependent on Congress to add new benefit categories via legislation.
The saga of the EU's Medical Device Regulation (MDR) is far from over, but stakeholders were treated to another related dose of reality in a session at this year's Med Tech Conference here in Toronto. Several panelists pointed to a lack of harmonization regarding notified bodies' interpretation of the regulation, but Stryker Inc.'s Michel Marboeuf said this problem flows to some extent from a lack of harmonization among the member states' competent authorities, a condition that is likely to resist treatment in the near term.
The U.S. FDA granted Momentis Surgical Ltd. 510(k) clearance for its Anovo robotic surgical platform for use in single site, abdominal access ventral hernia repairs. The U.S. regulatory agency also gave the greenlight to CMR Surgical Ltd.’s Versius system for use in cholecystectomy, in a sign of the growing market for smaller, more portable robotic devices to assist in minimally invasive procedures.
Seraxis Inc. has obtained IND clearance from the FDA for a phase I/II study of its novel islet replacement therapy SR-02 for type 1 diabetes. SR-02 is comprised of allogeneic pancreatic endocrine cell clusters that, when implanted to the omentum, form a functional endocrine pancreas outside of the native pancreas.
Gene and cell therapies will drive innovation for the next 10 years, Claus Zieler, the chief commercial officer at Astellas Pharma Inc., said in the newest episode of the BioWorld Insider podcast. Developers are on the cusp of breakthroughs because a gene can now be replaced “and that means we can potentially cure a disease rather than intervening in a disease.”
With confidence dropping in doing business with China-affiliated life sciences companies due to the Biosecure Act, one of the companies explicitly named in the U.S. legislation is fighting back. Raising the possibility of a constitutional challenge to the bill, Rade Drmanac, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Complete Genomics Inc., wrote to congressional leaders to urge them to remove the California-based subsidiary of MGI from the bill.
China’s National Medical Products Administration has given the thumbs up to Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s NDA for ongericimab, a recombinant humanized anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibody, marking the third PCSK9 inhibitor to be cleared in China.
Borvo Medical Inc., a neurointerventional med-tech startup, reported U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance of its Endoport Vacuum Assisted Collection (EVAC) system, an alternative to traditional subdural hematoma (SDH) drainage methods. The EVAC system is expected to be available in early 2025 the company said.
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