Cardiex Ltd. won U.S. FDA clearance for its Conneqt Pulse vascular biometric monitor. According to the digital health and wearables company, the device is the first in the world to provide measurements of both brachial blood pressure in the arm and central blood pressure in the heart and aorta, as well as arterial waveform analysis and other clinically relevant vascular biomarkers, outside the hospital, research institutions or clinical trial sites.
The U.S. FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee has recommended by a wide majority that the PARP inhibitor Lynparza (olaparib) in a combination therapy for treating prostate cancer should be restricted to only patients whose tumors have a BRCA mutation.
Rnaimmune Inc., a nonwholly owned subsidiary of Sirnaomics Ltd., has received clearance from the FDA for its IND application to conduct a phase I trial for RV-1730, a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine booster candidate.
Ocugen Inc.’s OCU-410ST (AAV5-hRORA) has been awarded orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of ABCA4-associated retinopathies, including Stargardt disease, retinitis pigmentosa 19 (RP19) and cone-rod dystrophy 3 (CORD3) diseases.
The supply chain for Seres Therapeutics Inc.’s oral microbiome therapeutic Vowst, formerly known as SER-109, to prevent recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (rCDI) is “well-established,” said David Arkowitz, the firm’s chief financial officer and head of business development. “It’s the same supply chain that we used for phase III [trials], and we’ve been manufacturing product for launch for some time.” Arkowitz spoke during a conference call with investors April 27, regarding the previous day’s U.S. FDA go-ahead for Vowst, cleared for adults with rCDI, including first recurrence following antibacterial therapy.
The legislative pile-on continues as the U.S. Congress considers more ways to take down health care costs while defending innovation. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health met April 26 to consider 17 draft discussion bills offered as bipartisan solutions to lower costs by increasing transparency and competition across the health care playing field.
The U.S. FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee meets April 28 to discuss the future of Astrazeneca plc and Merck & Co. Inc.’s supplemental NDA for Lynparza (olaparib) for an expanded label to treat prostate cancer. It has a few bones to pick. The FDA said it is concerned that the efficacy and safety have not been demonstrated outside of the small population of patients with tumor BRCA mutations and that the addition of olaparib to abiraterone may cause harm in patients who are definitively negative for tumor BRCA mutations.
As expected, Seres Therapeutics Inc. gained U.S. FDA approval of the BLA for the oral microbiome therapeutic Vowst, formerly known as SER-109, for prevention of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (rCDI), accepted for priority review in October of 2022 without an advisory committee meeting.
U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure made her first appearance April 26 before the House Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health, ostensibly to discuss legislative solutions to increase transparency and competition in health care. But member after member, regardless of political party, demanded answers about why CMS continues to severely restrict access to Eisai Co. Ltd.’s Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi (lecanemab), especially since another government agency is covering it for all veterans that meet the labeling requirements.
Despite the approval of Biogen Inc.’s Qalsody (tofersen) for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), there are still hurdles for the drug to clear, including a confirmatory study and setting a price. Because the U.S. FDA granted Qalsody accelerated, not full approval, there are plenty more data to collect in the ongoing confirmatory phase III Atlas study of those who develop ALS symptoms during the trial compared to placebo. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is being conducted with those carrying the superoxide dismutase 1 gene genetic mutation but are symptom free.
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