To streamline the development of biosimilars and align it with current analytical science, regulators across the globe are reevaluating a routine requirement for comparative clinical efficacy studies for biosimilar candidates.
Instead of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccines comprising both the original and omicron BA.4/BA.5 SARS-CoV-2 strains that have been in use in the U.S. since April, the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices voted 13-1 Sept. 12 to recommend the universal use of updated monovalent XBB-containing COVID-19 vaccines as authorized or approved by the FDA.
With the U.S. FDA’s approval of Biolinerx Ltd.’s stem cell mobilization agent Aphexda (motixafortide) for treating multiple myeloma (MM) patients, the company is prepping for a launch in the next two or three weeks.
While the U.S. FDA’s preclinical and clinical trial framework is generally well-suited to adapt to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in developing new drugs, its regulatory framework for medical devices that incorporate evolving AI leaves a lot to be desired, according to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee.
While the U.S. FDA didn’t ask for more study data or have safety or efficacy concerns, it does want modifications to Alexion, Astrazeneca Rare Disease’s sBLA for Ultomiris (ravulizumab-cwvz) to treat adults with the rare central nervous system disease neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. The agency has issued a complete response letter (CRL) requesting changes to Ultomiris’ Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) to better validate patients’ meningococcal vaccination status or prophylactic administration of antibiotics before being treated.
Now that the U.S. FDA has nearly 15 years of experience with developing and implementing a biosimilar pathway, it’s time for that regulatory path to catch up with the science, according to experts that have been involved in biosimilar development even before Congress passed the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act that created the framework for the U.S. biosimilar market.
After hitting the safety and efficacy endpoints in a pivotal study of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Outlook Therapeutics Inc.’s CEO said he had not expected to receive a complete response letter (CRL) from the U.S. FDA. The BLA for ONS-5010 (bevacizumab-vikg) now is on hold, the company said, because the agency said chemistry, manufacturing, and controls management problems were getting in the way, along with “open observations from pre-approval manufacturing inspections, and a lack of substantial evidence.”
The U.S. FDA has awarded Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMS) with its third approval for treating anemia with Reblozyl (luspatercept-aamt). Specifically, the approval is for treating anemia without previous erythropoiesis stimulating agent use in adults with very low- to intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes who may require regular red blood cell transfusions.
Biosimilars continue to pose cheaper alternatives to their established, blockbuster counterparts. The U.S. FDA has approved Tyruko (natalizumab-sztn) from Sandoz Inc., the generics business of Novartis AG. It is the first approved biosimilar to Biogen Inc.’s blockbuster Tysabri (natalizumab), an injectable monoclonal antibody for treating adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Shares of Fulcrum Therapeutics Inc. shot up 38.5% on Aug. 22 following news that the U.S. FDA had lifted the clinical hold on the company’s phase Ib sickle cell disease candidate, FTX-6058.
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