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FDA
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary intends to resign on Tuesday, according to several sources. This report follows a tumultuous 13-month tenure in which Makary oversaw the controversial rejections of several rare disease drugs and “predictable volatility” within the agency.
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New guidelines from two leading medical associations suggest that efforts to reduce bad cholesterol should focus on maintaining low levels of two key lipoproteins. Big pharma is all in, looking to improve on the standard statins to help vanquish America’s number one killer: heart disease.
The FDA’s decision last year to make complete response letters public provides new insight into why therapies sometimes fail to get the regulatory greenlight. Analysts say the information could help sponsors refine their regulatory strategies.
The Department of Health and Human Services is spinning its wheels, unable to establish steady leadership at three major divisions—the CDC and the FDA’s two primary review units.
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FDA
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s health department has consistently touted radical transparency as being key to its mission. Recent instances—the FDA’s decision not to disclose the recipients of three Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers and FDA and CDC choices not to publish vaccine-related papers—call this intent into question.
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With a clutch of key data and planned regulatory applications this year from Avidity Biosciences, REGENXBIO and Capricor Therapeutics, CureDuchenne CSO Michael Kelly sees “momentum” in the Duchenne muscular dystrophy pipeline, as Sarepta’s Elevidys leaves the door open.
Sales of Johnson & Johnson’s esketamine-based nasal spray jumped in the fourth quarter last year, priming the pump for a suite of other pharmas, including AbbVie, champing at the bit with their own psychedelics.
With Biogen’s multiple sclerosis portfolio facing more generic pressure than ever, the company is eyeing a busy late-stage pipeline and hunting for deals to build its return to growth.
According to Priovant, the Phase 2 BEACON study is the first industry-sponsored placebo-controlled trial in cutaneous sarcoidosis to deliver positive data.
Novo Nordisk has also spoken out strongly against Hims & Hers’ compounded Wegovy pill, with CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar telling investors the knockoff version is a waste of money.
Biopharma’s obsession with the weight loss sector—projected to exceed $130 billion in revenue by 2035—shows no signs of slowing down as analysts gear up for a year that will test the oral market and provide key data on novel mechanisms.
The administration’s direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical sales platform will offer products from Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk, Amgen and more at a discount, though the impact of such pricing remains to be seen.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been battling head-to-head in an exploding obesity market. They should never have been compared apples to apples.
Bristol Myers Squibb delivered better than expected fourth quarter earnings, but Eliquis missed expectations while Cobenfy continues to struggle with uptake.
Despite the Phase 1 cull, CEO Vas Narasimhan on Wednesday maintained that Novartis continues to invest in its early-stage pipeline, looking for deals in the “sub-$2-billion range.”