In a bit of déjà vu, the U.S. FDA’s Obstetrics, Reproductive and Urologic Drugs Advisory Committee once again voted that Makena (hydroxyprogesterone caproate) should be withdrawn from the U.S. market while a second confirmatory trial is designed and conducted. But this time around, the committee’s 14-1 vote was much more decisive than its 9-7 vote in 2019.
The FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) came out punching Oct. 17 at the start of a three-day hearing before the Obstetrics, Reproductive and Urologic Drugs Advisory Committee on whether Covis Pharma BV’s Makena (17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate), a branded version of a drug that’s been used since 1956 to prevent preterm births, should be withdrawn from the market.
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Nine years after Amag Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Makena (hydroxyprogesterone caproate injection) received accelerated approval to reduce the risk of preterm birth in certain at-risk pregnancies, the FDA is proposing its withdrawal from the U.S. market because the required postmarketing study didn’t show clinical benefit.
Given the evolving COVID-19 situation, U.S. House committee chairs are asking the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to direct federal agencies to immediately extend all public comment periods by at least 45 days beyond the end of the declared national emergency, whenever that may be.
Amag Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s argument for keeping Makena on the market without having to conduct a new trial went nowhere Tuesday as an advisory committee struggled with conflicting efficacy data for the preterm birth drug that received accelerated approval eight years ago.