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Phacilitate’s annual event dawns as cell and gene therapies reach a new tipping point: the science has hit new heights just as regulatory and government policies spark momentum and frustration.
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JPM
With the biopharma industry performing better of late, analysts, executives and other industry watchers are “cautiously optimistic”—a term heard all over the streets of San Francisco at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference earlier this month.
Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK and Merck are contributing drug ingredients as part of their deals with the White House but are keeping many of the terms of their agreements private.
Some 200 rare disease therapies are at risk of losing eligibility for a pediatric priority review voucher, a recent analysis by the Rare Disease Company Coalition shows. That could mean $4 billion in missed revenue for already cash-strapped biotechs.
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The FDA’s rare pediatric disease priority review voucher program missed reauthorization at the last minute in 2024; advocates have been fighting to get it back ever since.
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Allarity Therapeutics announced Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has made a preliminary determination recommending an enforcement action against the company for alleged violations of federal securities laws.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General found that bluebird bio’s fertility support program for its gene therapies could potentially violate federal anti-kickback statutes.
FDA
The South Korean company’s Epysqli is now FDA-approved for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome in the U.S., having grabbed the lead in the Soliris biosimilar market in Europe.
Innovent Biologics’ dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist mazdutide is also being developed for chronic weight management. China’s regulator accepted Innovent’s drug application for this indication in February 2024.
Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, which has previously been approved in China for diabetes, can now also be used for chronic weight management in the world’s second most populated country.
GSK is seeking to relaunch Blenrep after its market withdrawal in 2022. The pharma is eyeing a second-line niche for the antibody-drug conjugate in the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
Oral doses of SIGA Technologies’ antiviral drug Tpoxx will help the U.S. maintain its reserves of the vaccine in preparation for future potential outbreaks, according to the company.
Career support is the No. 2 driver of employee engagement while learning and development is No. 3, according to a new Right Management report. A recent BioSpace survey supports those findings.
ALS
After a long and challenging journey for its stem cell therapy NurOwn, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics has aligned with the FDA on the parameters of a Phase IIIb ALS trial that is expected to begin by the end of 2024.
With GLP-1 receptor agonists expected to dominate the weight loss market in the near term, several young companies are building on this mechanism, while others are taking a completely different approach.