Hopes that a second clinical win for Otonomy Inc.'s phase III Meniere's disease candidate, Otividex, might set the stage for a third-quarter registration of the drug in the U.S. have been dashed, sending company shares (NASDAQ:OTIC) down 44.3% to $3 on Feb. 22. For the intent-to-treat (ITT) population, the trial missed its primary endpoint, the count of definitive vertigo days in month three for the sustained-exposure dexamethasone therapy vs. placebo. The trial also failed to achieve statistical significance for a per-protocol analysis. It was déjà vu for the company, which suffered a harsh reaction to an earlier setback for the program from which its stock has yet to recover, years later. Read More
Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. said FDA senior leadership told the company the level of clinical data in the Nurown (neurotrophic factor-producing mesenchymal stem cells) phase III trial in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) does not provide the threshold of substantial evidence needed to support a BLA. Read More
The 2017 FDA approval of Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec-rzyl, Roche Holding AG) spurred a race to create the next gene therapy for the eye. The organ is very amenable to gene therapy given that it's a confined space with post-mitotic cells that has immune privilege and requires substantially smaller amounts of viral vector compared to systemic treatments. Read More
LONDON – The first population-level real-world data on COVID-19 vaccines indicate they are having a dramatic impact on severe disease, with a study in Scotland showing a fall of 85% in hospital admissions for people who received the Pfizer Inc./Biontech SE product, and a drop of 94% for those who had Astrazeneca plc’s vaccine, four weeks after receiving the first dose. Read More
Although progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) tends to draw more hoopla in the race, and Mirum Pharmaceuticals Inc. looks due to beat Albireo Pharma Inc. to market in Alagille syndrome (ALGS), the most revenue likely lies in a third rare pediatric liver disease where the firms compete: biliary atresia (BA). Mirum, of Foster City, Calif., completed its rolling NDA several weeks ago for maralixibat – an inhibitor of the apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter designed to drive more excretion of bile acids as a way of lowering their level systemically – in cholestatic pruritus in patients with ALGS one year of age and older. Read More
COVID-19 vaccine developers should begin testing their vaccines against emerging variants now and assessing booster regimens, the FDA said in an update to its October guidance on emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for the vaccines. Read More
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Abbvie, Bionomics, Can-Fite, Cartesian, Gannex, GSK, Immunicum, Ipsen, Italfarmaco, Kintor, Mediwound, Novavax, Otonomy, Sanofi, Valneva, VBL. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Adamis, Amgen, Astrazeneca, Brainstorm, Cassava, Celsion, Curocell, Intra-Cellular, Junshi, Supernus, Zosano. Read More
