Vericel Corp.’s Maci for repairing cartilage defects in the knee has been approved by the U.S. FDA via a supplemental biologics license application. Using a patient’s own cells cultured on a porcine collagen membrane, Maci Arthro is delivered arthroscopically and allows for repair of knee cartilage defects up to 4 cm².

Product liability is always a point of concern for manufacturers of medical devices and other U.S. FDA-regulated products, and the broad contours of product liability jurisprudence are well known by corporate counsel. However, artificial intelligence products are rapidly pressing their way into routine clinical use, representing a technological shift that may occasionally deviate from the existing rules of the road where product liability is concerned.

Invenra Inc.’s bispecific antibody, INV-724, developed for the treatment of neuroblastoma, has been awarded orphan drug and rare pediatric disease designations by the FDA.

Ractigen Therapeutics Co. Ltd.’s small activating RNA (saRNA) therapeutic, RAG-18, has been awarded U.S. orphan drug designation for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy.

In July 2024, BioWorld reported on 121 clinical trial updates, down from 221 covered in June. The month saw 17 successful phase III trials, alongside four unsuccessful cancer trials.

The long struggle by Boston-based I2o Therapeutics Inc.’s business unit Intarcia Therapeutics to get long-lasting exenatide for diabetes onto the market ended with a final thumbs-down from the U.S. FDA because of safety concerns. At issue was ITCA-650, a twice-yearly implantable exenatide-device combo meant to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes.

The U.S. FDA recently granted Medtronic plc approval for its deep brain stimulation (DBS) system to be used to treat Parkinson’s disease or essential tremor while a patient is asleep, under general anesthesia. The approval gives patients another option for DBS therapy which can transform their quality of life, Amaza Reitmeier, vice president and general manager for Medtronic brain modulation, told BioWorld in an interview.

The U.S. FDA’s draft guidance for predetermined change control protocols for all device types fills in a gap left by previous draft guidance, but there is one potential stopping point for class III devices.

Immpact Bio USA Inc. has obtained IND clearance from the FDA for IMPT-514, a CD19/CD20 bispecific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for the treatment of adult patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). A phase I trial will focus on patients who have suboptimal disease control despite prior treatment with high efficacy disease-modifying therapies in all forms of MS.