The EMA’s safety committee has issued a warning that the GLP-1 receptor agonist Ozempic (semaglutide, Novo Nordisk A/S) can cause an acute eye condition in which the optic nerve is damaged by a sudden loss of blood supply. After reviewing several large epidemiological studies, clinical trial and in-market data, EMA’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee has concluded non-anterior ischemic optic neuropathy is a “very rare” side effect of Ozempic, that “may affect up to one in 10,000 people taking semaglutide.

The EMA has issued a new guideline on how to include and/or retain pregnant and breastfeeding women in clinical trials, in a move that it says “marks a change in the paradigm.” The aim is to ensure that trial sponsors generate robust clinical data in these populations.

GSK plc’s Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin) is heading back to the market three years after being withdrawn, with the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommending approval of the antibody-drug conjugate in combination therapy for the treatment of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.

Sirius Therapeutics Inc. raised nearly $50 million in a series B2 financing round May 9 to support its pipeline of small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules for cardiovascular disease indications. SRSD-107, a long-acting Factor XI anticoagulant for thromboembolic disorders, is its lead candidate waiting on EMA clearance to begin a phase II study in Europe. 

Sirius Therapeutics Inc. raised nearly $50 million in a series B2 financing round May 9 to support its pipeline of small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules for cardiovascular disease indications. SRSD-107, a long-acting Factor XI anticoagulant for thromboembolic disorders, is its lead candidate waiting on EMA clearance to begin a phase II study in Europe. 

Ahead Therapeutics SL has received positive feedback from the EMA on its way toward initiating regulatory toxicology studies for its lead program in myasthenia gravis. The feedback supports the company’s scientific approach.

Argenx NV is now well on the way to establishing a Vyvgart (efgartigimod alfa) franchise in severe autoimmune diseases, after getting the nod from the EMA in the treatment of progressive or relapsing chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

The EMA has granted European orphan drug designation to Purespring Therapeutics Ltd.’s PS-002 for IgA nephropathy (IgAN).

Onward Therapeutics SA’s subsidiary Emercell SAS has received investigational medicinal product dossier (IMPD) approval from the EMA to initiate a phase I trial of OT-C001, an allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell therapy, in combination with an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, rituximab.