FDA
The upcoming FDA decision for Replimune’s advanced melanoma drug could be a litmus test for the agency’s future regulatory decision-making, analysts say, with implications stretching well beyond one company.
FEATURED STORIES
The FDA has some big verdicts lined up in the second quarter, including one for a closely watched obesity drug that many anticipate will further intensify competition in weight loss.
Draft guidance, issued by the FDA last week, could remove ambiguity and uncertainty that may have so far limited uptake of new approach methodologies, experts told BioSpace, particularly emphasizing the agency’s recommendations around defining NAMs’ regulatory purpose.
The FDA’s Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program, unveiled in June 2025, is “shrouded in secrecy,” Democratic representative Jake Auchincloss said last month, as regulatory and biopharma leaders try to decode the criteria for investigational or approved drugs to receive a voucher.
Subscribe to ClinicaSpace
Clinical trial results, research news, the latest in cancer and cell and gene therapy, in your inbox every Monday
THE LATEST
Rocket Pharmaceuticals’ strategic realignment initiative in July pulled funding from fanca-cel, which the biotech was developing for Fanconi anemia.
Following up on previous, dimly received issuances, a new set of ideas published by the FDA to streamline regulatory pathways for cell and gene therapies ‘for small populations’ is receiving a warmer welcome—but experts warn it will take more to turn the tide for the fraught therapeutic space.
As with recent rejections for Biogen and Scholar Rock, manufacturing issues stymied a regulatory bid from Fortress Biotech and Sentynl Therapeutics. Fortress said the FDA did not flag problems with the drug’s safety or efficacy.
Due to policies regarding industry user fees, the FDA will not be able to accept any new drug applications for the duration of the government shutdown, according to Leerink Partners.
The first oral BTK blocker for chronic spontaneous urticaria, Rhapsido offers a more convenient treatment option for patients who still show symptoms after antihistamine treatment.
Without naming Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, the CDER director in a now-deleted LinkedIn post claimed that for lupus nephritis, companies have not conducted post-approval studies “to demonstrate a benefit on hard clinical endpoints.”
The FDA in September issued two rejections for spinal muscular atrophy therapies—both linked to manufacturing problems—and granted approvals in Barth syndrome and for a subcutaneous version of Merck’s Keytruda that could be key to the blockbuster’s future earnings.
By publishing complete response letters as soon as they are issued to drug sponsors, the FDA is expanding transparency in a way that, while positioned as a public health measure, also grants investors greater visibility into regulatory decisions. Experts question whether this is the agency’s proper remit.
In one of the first demonstrations of the impact of last year’s Loper Supreme Court decision on challenges to agency authority, a judge ruled that the FDA does not have authority to regulate tests developed by clinical laboratories.
From more than 30 target action dates in the last three months of the year, BioSpace has narrowed the list to six regulatory decisions that could have far-reaching implications for biopharma and patients.