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Billions of dollars’ worth of cancer drugs are discarded each year. Manufacturers must refund Medicare for some of this waste. A data-driven approach offers a practical path to greater efficiency.
FEATURED STORIES
The first gene therapies approved to treat sickle cell disease in December 2023 are struggling on the market. But there are glimpses of forward momentum as Vertex and Genetix Bio provide updates.
After last year’s ‘stampede’ for FGF21 assets, the focus for the metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis space has shifted toward differentiated approaches, such as THR-β agonists and combination treatments, that seek to mirror the commercial success of Madrigal’s Rezdiffra.
Maintaining America’s momentum demands that policymakers resist policies that undermine research and development incentives.
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FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
FDA
Following the FDA’s refusal to review Moderna’s investigational mRNA flu vaccine last week, Commissioner Marty Makary faced questions from the U.S. president about the agency’s handling of vaccines. It’s a clear signal that the tension long brewing at the drug regulator has now gone all the way to the top.
THE LATEST
After Emma Walmsley steps down as GSK CEO in January, Vertex Pharma’s Reshma Kewalramani will be the sole female CEO at a top-20 pharma company. Still, there are many prominent women in pharma that could someday break through again.
Chief Commerical Officer Luke Miels will replace outgoing GSK CEO Emma Walmsley at the U.K. pharma next year.
The AAV pullback comes amid Biogen’s aggressive cost-cutting campaign, which put some 1,000 jobs on the chopping block with the goal of generating $1 billion in savings by 2025.
Applied Therapeutics has yet to confirm whether the study, posted on Clinicaltrials.gov on Thursday, means it has indeed aligned with the FDA on govorestat’s development.
The centerpiece of the acquisition is petosemtamab, Merus’ bispecific antibody targeting EGFR and LGR5, which in May demonstrated best-in-class potential for head-and-neck cancer.
FDA
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.
FDA
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.
The company was awaiting $70 million from HealthCare Royalty but missed an agreed-upon payment condition.