Hanchorbio Inc. has received IND clearance by the FDA to initiate a clinical trial of HCB-101, for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors or relapsed and refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
Providing a much-needed lift to struggling Gamida Cell Ltd., the U.S. FDA has approved the firm’s advanced cell therapy Omisirge (omidubicel-onlv) to reduce the risk of infection in patients with hematologic malignancies aged 12 years and older who are scheduled to have umbilical cord blood transplantation.
After issuing three prior complete response letters, the U.S. FDA finally granted approval via the 505(b)(2) NDA pathway to Intelgenx Corp.’s Rizafilm Versafilm to treat acute migraine.
Despite concerns about a limited dataset to study, the urgent need to treat one of the toughest and most deadly infections propelled a U.S. FDA advisory committee to unanimously support the NDA for Entasis Therapeutics Inc.’s sulbactam-durlobactam (Sul-Dur). Sul-Dur, an injectable combination of beta-lactam antibiotic and beta-lactamase inhibitor for treating adults with hospital‐acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator‐associated bacterial pneumonia caused by susceptible strains of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections, has a May 29 PDUFA date.
As expected, the serotonin-dopamine modulator Rexulti (brexpiprazole) from Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and H. Lundbeck A/S for agitation in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia, found favor April 14 at the joint meeting of the U.S. FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee (adcom) and the Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee.
Manufacturing deficiencies stand in the way of two BLAs as complete response letters (CRLs) were issued to Eli Lilly and Co. and to Alvotech Holdings SA. The U.S. FDA issued the CRL to Lilly regarding the BLA for mirikizumab, a humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody to treat ulcerative colitis, specifically citing manufacturing concerns. There’s a similar problem with Alvotech’s biosimilar candidate for Abbvie Inc.’s Humira (adalimumab). The FDA issued a CRL for AVT-02’s BLA, citing problems needing resolution at its Reykjavik, Iceland, manufacturing facility before it could approve the application.
Danco Laboratories LLC’s abortion pill, Mifeprex (mifepristone), and a generic will remain on the U.S. market with tighter restrictions while a challenge to the drug’s 2000 accelerated approval and the FDA’s subsequent loosening of prescribing requirements plays out on appeal. That is unless the Supreme Court says otherwise.
With a May 29 PDUFA date nearing, the U.S. FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee meets April 17 to discuss the merits of Entasis Therapeutics Inc.’s hospital-acquired infection therapy.
Briefing documents suggest smooth sailing for Rexulti (brexpiprazole) at the meeting to deliberate an application to expand the label of the compound from Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Lundbeck A/S into agitation related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia. A joint sit-down on April 14 of the U.S. FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee (adcom) and the Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee will take up the matter of an add-on indication for Rexulti, a serotonin-dopamine activity modulator for schizophrenia and for the adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder.
The possibilities of cures for cancer and other tough-to-treat diseases and the ability to further personalize medicine are creating a lot of excitement about the future of radiopharmaceuticals as both therapy and diagnostics. To reach that future, industry and researchers will have to overcome a lot of challenges, not the least of which stem from the multiple government agencies involved in regulating the source material, development, distribution and use of radioactive drugs and devices.
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