The U.S. FDA’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic may have got off to a rocky start, but the agency’s device center has changed course rather quickly several times in recent months. Tim Stenzel, director of the FDA’s Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health, said on the latest COVID-19 town hall that the push is now on several relatively novel points of emphasis, including high-throughput testing, a technology that may prove critical to corralling the SARS-CoV-2 virus when flu season arrives later this year.
Medtronic plc has won the U.S. FDA’s nod for the first deep brain stimulation (DBS) system that integrates Brainsense, the company’s technology to sense and record brain signals for more personalized treatment. The next-generation Percept PC DBS with Brainsense is approved to treat symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, dystonia, epilepsy and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Precardia Inc. received some good news from the U.S. FDA, which has granted the company's catheter-based system for treating volume overload in patients with acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF) breakthrough device designation. The device is intended to quickly reduce congestion in the venous system, known as cardiac preload, with an eye toward improving overall cardio-renal function.
Sommetrics Inc. said Tuesday that it has requested emergency use authorization from the U.S. FDA to market its Aersleep II device for sleep apnea patients at risk of COVID-19. The aim is to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by treating infected patients with sleep apnea with Aersleep instead of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.
The bad news is, yes, the U.S. is in for a second wave of COVID-19, which is expected to hit during the upcoming flu season. The good news is the nation is much better prepared for the next wave, the NIH’s Anthony Fauci told a House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday.
Mainstay Medical Holdings plc has won U.S. FDA approval for its Reactiv8 implantable neurostimulation device. The company is eyeing a commercial launch of the system in early 2021. The FDA approved Reactiv8 as an aid in managing intractable chronic low back pain associated with multifidus muscle dysfunction in adults who have failed therapy and are not candidates for spine surgery.
Xpovio (selinexor), an oral selective inhibitor of nuclear transport from Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc., of Newton, Mass., received FDA approval today for treating adults with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), including DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma, after at least two lines of systemic therapy. Xpovio will be available immediately in the U.S., the company said, and, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the launch will be a virtual one.
A second attempt by Nabriva Therapeutics plc to win U.S. approval for the antibiotic Contepo (fosfomycin) has been undone by COVID-19. Manufacturing issues stymied the original NDA. This time, restrictions of FDA staff travel to Europe sunk the venture, leading to a new complete response letter (CRL) for the candidate as a potential treatment of complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including acute pyelonephritis.
Evoke Pharma Inc., of Solana Beach, Calif., which has struggled in the past year through troughs in its stock price and doubts from the FDA in its quest for approval for Gimoti (metoclopramide), was vindicated today as the FDA approved the treatment for adults with acute and recurrent diabetic gastroparesis.
Smart assisted surgery company Naviswiss AG, of Brugg, Switzerland, has gained U.S. FDA clearance for its miniature navigation technology for hip replacement surgery. The hand-held system, with an open platform that supports all implant vendors, is being offered on a fee per-use basis.
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