In an effort to drive down out-of-pocket costs for Americans, the U.S. FTC is resolving an antitrust case through a proposed second settlement with a large pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and its affiliates.
Despite some back-and-forth with the U.S. FDA regarding inclusion in the somewhat controversial Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher (CNPV) program, Sanofi SA’s Tzield (teplizumab) gained FDA clearance, expanding use of the CD3-directed monoclonal antibody as a disease-modifying therapy for patients with recently diagnosed stage 3 type 1 diabetes (T1D).
Insulet Corp. has initiated a voluntary medical device correction affecting insulin pump pods in its Omnipod product lines after discovering a manufacturing issue that could lead to the leaking of insulin and the under-delivery of doses in some patients. The company said that some pods from specific lots may have a small tear in the cannula.
A regulatory plod that began in 2023 – and met with success in many other territories – at last crossed the U.S. FDA finish line when Novo Nordisk A/S secured approval of Awiqli (insulin icodec) injection 700 units/mL, the first and only once-weekly, long-acting basal insulin.
Eli Lilly and Co. got a breather when the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the company doesn’t owe Research Corporation Technologies Inc. (RCT) royalties on its diabetes drugs under a licensing agreement Lilly had made with Phillips Petroleum Co. in 1990 and that Phillips later sold to RCT.
Beta Bionics Inc.’s preliminary results for its first full year as a public company offered an early read on developments and market positioning in the insulin pump and patch market, with analysts pointing to steady growth, rising pharmacy channel penetration and intensifying pressure as more products target both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Investors poured a further $13 million into Vicentra BV for Kaleido, its insulin patch pump system, taking the total raised in the company’s series D financing round to $98 million. The funds come amid significant changes across diabetes technology, particularly the acceleration of patch pumps. Kaleido is one of the smallest, lightest, and most precise insulin patch pumps available.
Vicentra BV’s insulin patch pump, Kaleido, will soon reach more patients with diabetes after it raised $85 million in a series D funding round. The company said the Kaleido is among the smallest, lightest, and most precise insulin patch pumps available.
A federal appeals court opened the door Aug. 6 for an amended class-action lawsuit alleging that Astrazeneca plc, Eli Lilly and Co., Novo Nordisk A/S and Sanofi SA engaged in a horizontal price-fixing conspiracy involving insulin products and GLP-1 drugs indicated in diabetes when they each adopted similar policies in 2020 to impose restrictions on 340B discounts to an unlimited number of contract pharmacies.
Abvance Therapeutics Inc. secured an undisclosed amount of capital in a seed round led by Zubi Capital to support development of an insulin and glucagon combination product that the company has been in the process of developing for approximately 18 months. “We’re very excited that this round is able to get us positioned for a successful series A once we meet some internal confidential milestones,” Edward Raskin, CEO of Abvance, told BioWorld.
