The first day of the U.S. FDA’s two-day advisory hearing on generative artificial intelligence reflected some of the anxieties attached to this emerging technology, with the phenomenon of hallucinations driving several calls for more stringent regulation of this class of products that might be applied toward other entries in the class of artificial intelligence.

On the heels of U.S. FDA approval for Neurophet Aqua, an updated version of its artificial intelligence (AI)-based magnetic resonance imaging analysis software for the brain, Neurophet Inc. is preparing for an IPO in 2025 and expansion into U.S. and European markets.

Former U.S. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg has added her voice to concerns that the incoming Trump administration’s pledge to slim down federal agencies will damage public health. “These are certainly challenging times,” Hamburg told delegates at the World Science Forum, Budapest, Hungary, meeting to discuss issues dominating the interface between science and policy.

With the U.S. FDA approval of Attruby (acoramidis) for transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), Bridgebio Pharma Inc. is taking on an industry giant. The next-generation, oral, small-molecule stabilizer of transthyretin will take on Pfizer Inc.’s Vyndamax (tafamidis, Vyndaqel), a TTR stabilizer approved in 2019 for ATTR-CM but expected to lose exclusivity in late 2028. The approval was based on a phase III study that showed Attruby significantly reduced death and cardiovascular-related hospitalizations. The NDA, which had a Nov. 29 PDUFA date, was approved Nov. 22.

President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) grabbed headlines globally, but the political jostling to come will determine whether Kennedy can secure the seat.

The U.S. FDA approved 15 drugs in October, marking a decline from 24 in September and 22 in August. Despite the drop, the 2024 monthly average stands at about 19 approvals, exceeding last year’s average of 16, 2022’s 12.5, and the 17-per-month averages recorded in both 2021 and 2020.

Former U.S. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg has added her voice to concerns that the incoming Trump administration’s pledge to slim down federal agencies will damage public health. “These are certainly challenging times,” Hamburg told delegates at the World Science Forum, Budapest, Hungary, meeting to discuss issues dominating the interface between science and policy.

The U.S. FDA granted Brightheart SAS 510(k) clearance for its artificial intelligence software which helps doctors detect congenital heart defects in fetuses. The software will transform prenatal ultrasound evaluations of the fetal heart and improve the outcomes for newborns, Cécile Dupont, Brightheart’s CEO, told BioWorld.

More than a week ahead of its priority PDUFA date, the U.S. FDA has greenlit the first dual HER2-targeted bispecific antibody specifically for previously treated, unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive biliary tract cancer. The approval went to Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc for Ziihera (zanidatamab), an injection given to adults every two weeks. The treatment was designed to have a more favorable profile than competitors, where drugs targeting HER2 such as Astrazeneca plc’s Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) and Roche Holding AG’s Herceptin (trastuzumab) are options, as well as checkpoint inhibitors such as Merck & Co Inc.’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab).

Kura Oncology Inc. and Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. have joined hands in a global strategic collaboration worth $1.49 billion to develop and commercialize ziftomenib, Kura’s selective oral menin inhibitor for treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other hematologic malignancies.