COVID-19 boosters for the fall should contain an omicron component, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biologic Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) said June 28, voting 19-2 to make that recommendation.
The U.S. FDA has placed a clinical hold on Astellas Pharma Inc.’s Fortis phase I/II trial evaluating AT-845 following a serious adverse event of peripheral sensory neuropathy in one of the trial participants. AT-845 is an adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene replacement therapy being studied in adults with late-onset Pompe disease.
Axsome Therapeutics Inc. and the U.S. FDA appear to be working out their differences. The company said it received the proposed labeling from the agency for AXS-05 (dextromethorphan + bupropion), an oral NMDA receptor antagonist with multimodal activity, for treating major depressive disorder.
Armed with data but no crystal ball, the U.S. FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biologic Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) will be asked June 28 to predict the next-generation vaccines that will be needed to best respond to the COVID-19 futurescape. While Moderna Inc., Pfizer Inc. and Novavax Inc. will briefly present clinical data for their variant vaccines at the VRBPAC meeting, the discussion will be about the future of all COVID-19 vaccines being developed or authorized for the U.S. market.
The U.S. FDA has placed a clinical hold on Astellas Pharma Inc.’s Fortis phase I/II trial evaluating AT-845 following a serious adverse event of peripheral sensory neuropathy in one of the trial participants. AT-845 is an adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene replacement therapy being studied in adults with late-onset Pompe disease.
Becton, Dickinson & Co. (BD) recalled intraosseous needle set kits and power drivers. The action was triggered by difficulties in separating the stylet from the needle. The FDA also announced a class I recall of the Volara respiratory clearance system by Baxter Healthcare Corp., of Deerfield, Ill., because of issues with an in-line ventilator adapter.
The FDA has rejected Artrya Ltd.’s 510(k) application for its Salix coronary anatomy (SCA) software that analyzes heart computed tomography scans via artificial intelligence (AI) to better diagnose coronary artery disease. “The FDA has advised that the Artrya Salix product is not equivalent to the predicate device,” Artrya CEO John Barrington told BioWorld.
Medical device supply chain considerations became especially salient during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the U.S. FDA is interested in ensuring that supply chains do not hamper patient access going forward. However, Clayton Hall of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) said on a recent FDA webinar that device makers are sometimes at the mercy of their suppliers.
Just three months after raising $10 million from its IPO on the Paris Euronext Growth market, SMAIO SA (Software Machines and Adaptive Implants in Orthopedics) obtained U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for its Balance Analyzer 3D surgery planning software and for its patient-specific union rods. This spinal realignment planning software uses medical imaging of the patient’s spine in an upright static position.
The U.S. FDA is among the regulators that are taking account of the views of patients in medical device development and regulation, but artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are terra incognita for many, if not most patients. Rebekah Angove, vice president for patient experience and program evaluation at the Patient Insight Institute, told BioWorld that while some patients clearly want to know more about AI and ML, it is also clear that more than a certain amount of detail is more of a distraction than a help for most patients.