Just months after the controversial FDA approval of Alzheimer’s disease drug Aduhelm (aducanumab), partners on that medicine, Eisai Co. Ltd. and Biogen Inc., are advancing a BLA for another possible AD therapy, lecanemab. Formerly known as BAN-2401, the Bioarctic AB-originated antibody is designed to neutralize and eliminate soluble, toxic amyloid beta for the treatment of early AD. The rolling submission, in pursuit of an accelerated approval, was primarily based on data from a phase IIb trial in people with early AD and confirmed amyloid pathology.
Astellas Pharma Inc. and Seagen Inc. received approval through a priority review from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for Padcev (enfortumab vedotin) to treat radically unresectable urothelial carcinoma that has progressed after chemotherapy. The green light for the antibody-drug conjugate is based on the global phase III EV-301 clinical trial, which included sites in Japan.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Amgen, Astellas, Atara, BMS, Eisai, Genetx, Immunoforge, JW, Kintor, Lipidor, Moderna, Opko, Takeda, Transcenta, Ultragenyx, Vifor.
Biopharma companies that have agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Justice millions of dollars to resolve allegations that they illegally used charities to cover patients’ Medicare copays for brand drugs are finding those settlements may be just the beginning of their legal woes, even when the companies admit no liability in the settlement.
While much of the global pandemic response has focused on vaccines, the World Health Organization is now calling on drug manufacturers to ramp up their supply and donations of monoclonal antibodies used to treat COVID-19 infections.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Akeso, Baxter, RDIF, Regeneron, Roche, Sensorion, Spero.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky’s early morning announcement on Sept. 24 recommending boosters for certain frontline workers was considered wise by some but as undermining her advisers and the process by others. She endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation for booster doses of the Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE COVID-19 vaccine but overruled one of the panel’s Sept. 23 decisions by adding boosters for people ages 18 to 64 who are at increased risk of COVID-19 exposure and transmission due to occupational or institutional setting, based on their individual benefits and risks.
Constrained by the U.S. FDA’s authorized conditions of use for a booster dose of Pfizer Inc. and Biontech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) struggled with making recommendations Sept. 23 for the use of the booster, with several members questioning the need for a third dose in some of the populations the FDA identified.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Advaccine, Algernon, Arcturus, Bluebird, Carisma, Cytodyn, Incyte, Inovio, Inventiva, Moberg, Pharmamar, Radius Health, Rhythm, Taysha Gene Therapies, Tryp.
Five days after an FDA advisory committee recommended a booster dose of Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, for people 65 and older or those who are at high risk of a serious infection, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) struggled Sept. 22 with what a U.S. booster program would look like if only one booster is available when three different COVID-19 vaccines are being used in the country.
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