For individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) that does not respond to pharmacotherapy, recent decisions by the U.S. FDA enabling at-home use of neuromodulation devices may provide a bright spot in dark days. Neurolief Ltd. received FDA premarket approval for Proliv Rx, a physician-directed, brain neuromodulation therapy indicated for use as an at-home adjunctive treatment for adults with MDD who failed to respond adequately to at least one previous antidepressant on Jan. 7. That decision follows the December 510(k) clearance for at-home use of the Flow brain-stimulation device by Flow Neuroscience AB as either a monotherapy or as an adjunctive treatment.
Depending on who you ask, AI will take over the world and save it; or ruin it. Certainly, it is changing it. Science magazine dedicated its first editorial of 2026 to AI. Despite its title – “Resisting AI slop“ – editor-in-chief Holden Thorp gave the sort of nuanced review that is typical of him. “Like many tools, AI will allow the scientific community to do more if it picks the right ways to use it,” he wrote. “The community needs to be careful and not be swept up by the hype surrounding every AI product.”
The U.S. FDA has cleared Tessera Therapeutics Inc.’s IND application for TSRA-196, its lead in vivo gene editing therapy for α-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). The Australian Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has also granted approval for the company to begin the phase I/II clinical study.
Generative AI has largely escaped the U.S. FDA’s regulatory purview up to now, but OpenAI seems poised to create a new source of regulatory angst for the agency. The company unveiled its ChatGPT Health Jan. 7, a large language model that when used professionally could land the company in the FDA’s regulatory crosshairs.
Askbio Inc., a subsidiary of Bayer AG, has received IND clearance from the FDA for AB-1009, an AAV gene therapy being developed for the treatment of late-onset Pompe disease.
A2 Biotherapeutics Inc. has gained IND clearance from the FDA for A2B-543 for the treatment of germline heterozygous HLA-A*02 adults with recurrent unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors.
Depending on who you ask, AI will take over the world and save it; or ruin it. Certainly, it is changing it. Science magazine dedicated its first editorial of 2026 to AI. Despite its title – “Resisting AI slop“ – editor-in-chief Holden Thorp gave the sort of nuanced review that is typical of him. “Like many tools, AI will allow the scientific community to do more if it picks the right ways to use it,” he wrote. “The community needs to be careful and not be swept up by the hype surrounding every AI product.”
The U.S. FDA signaled during a Type B meeting that existing data could support a BLA filing for Moonlake Immunotherapeutics AG’s sonelokimab to treat the skin disease hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), despite one of two pivotal phase III trials missing the mark.
The U.S. FDA’s reissuance of the 2019 guidance for general wellness products seems to carve out new territory for makers of wearables that make modest claims regarding health, but anyone who was expecting a clear break with the 2019 version of the guidance was almost certainly disappointed.