Now that the U.S. FDA has granted accelerated approval for Biogen Inc./Eisai Co. Ltd.’s early Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi (lecanemab), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is being pressured to rethink its coverage of amyloid-targeting monoclonal antibodies.
After a delay in November that resulted in a new PDUFA date, Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Syfovre (pegcetacoplan injection) received U.S. FDA approval for treating geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration. While this is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for GA, there is competition afoot from Belite Bio Inc. and Iveric Bio Inc. The intravitreal targeted C3 therapy’s Feb. 17 approval of the priority NDA came more than a week ahead of its Feb. 26 PDUFA.
Carephar Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. obtained marketing approval for keverprazan (KFP-H008) from China’s NMPA for use in duodenal ulcer and reflux esophagitis treatments, allowing it to tap an increasingly competitive market.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Alterity, Apellis, Astellas, Chiesi, CSL, Iveric, Karyopharm, Menarini, Merck, Moderna, Specialised, Teva, Travere, Uniqure.
San Diego-based Travere Therapeutics Inc. gained U.S. FDA accelerated approval for its dual endothelin angiotensin receptor antagonist, Filspari (sparsentan), to reduce proteinuria in adults with primary IgA nephropathy, or Berger’s disease.
The stage is set for a showdown between the pharma industry and national governments and public health experts over which policy the EU should grasp, as it bids to create a pan-European incentive scheme that will encourage innovation and get more antibiotics through to market. At issue is a proposal supported by the industry, under which companies getting approval for a new antibiotic would be given a voucher allowing them to extend market exclusivity of any different drug of their choice for one year.
Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA scored U.S. FDA clearance of the enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) Lamzede (velmanase alfa-tycv) for non-central nervous system manifestations of alpha-mannosidosis (AM) in adult and pediatric patients. An ultra-rare, progressive lysosomal storage disorder, AM is caused by deficiency in the enzyme alpha-mannosidase. Lamzede is the first ERT to win approval in the indication, characterized by an inability to properly break down certain groups of complex sugars in the body’s cells.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Axcella, Entera, Kancera, Nymox, Ose, Pharming, Redhill.
If the Feb. 16 hearing before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee is anything to go by, it’s almost a given that the bipartisan Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Transparency Act will eventually be passed by the Senate. But its journey through the Republican-controlled House could be more uncertain in light of growing concerns about an “activist agenda” at the FTC.
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