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FDA
If ultimately confirmed, Makary’s planned departure, broken by The Wall Street Journal Friday afternoon, would follow a controversial tenure in which his deputy and constant co-author Vinay Prasad riled biopharma feathers with myriad unexpected drug rejections. Prasad stepped down as biologics chief last week.
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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.
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.
In Salt Lake City, biotech founders new and seasoned reflect on ways to ride out the industry’s challenges, such as sending cold emails to investors and learning to address leadership weaknesses.
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Brazil’s Ministry of Health and nonprofit Caring Cross announced a collaboration Tuesday aimed at local manufacturing of CAR-T cell and stem cell gene therapies at a much lower cost than Europe and the U.S.
Stoke Therapeutics reported results for Dravet syndrome studies showing clinically meaningful effects, including reductions in convulsive seizure frequency, supporting the potential for disease modification.
The early-stage study showed that Viking Therapeutics’ oral obesity candidate VK2735, a dual agonist of the GLP-1 and GIP receptors, elicited a 3.3% reduction in mean body weight. The company plans to start a Phase II trial.
FDA
AstraZeneca’s Alexion on Monday secured the fourth indication for Ultomiris, which can now be used to treat the rare autoimmune condition neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.
Axsome clinched a late-stage victory for its chronic sleep disorder candidate AXS-12, which demonstrated significant improvement in cataplexy—the sudden loss of muscle tone while a person is awake—after five weeks.
The National Institutes of Health claims BioNTech is in default regarding alleged royalty payments the agency contends it is owed in connection with the company’s COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty.
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Regeneron’s bispecific antibody odronextamab was hit with Complete Response Letters from the FDA noting issues with the enrollment status of its confirmatory trials.
Monday’s announced buyout of Virginia-based Landos Biopharma adds a mid-stage, oral NLRX1 agonist for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease to AbbVie’s growing portfolio.
FDA
Esperion bagged broader-than-expected FDA labels for its cholesterol-busting drugs Friday, allowing the biotech to target seven times as many people in the U.S. compared to the old labels.