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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.
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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Vertex expects to make the newly approved non-opioid pain medicine Journavx available by the end of February.
Nerandomilast, an oral phosphodiesterase 4B inhibitor, hit the primary endpoint in a Phase III trial in progressive pulmonary fibrosis—nearly six months after achieving a similar feat in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Boehringer plans to submit for FDA and other global approvals in both indications.
The intravenous antibiotic Emblaveo, a combination of aztreonam and avibactam approved in Europe last year, was developed in partnership with Pfizer. AbbVie acquired its share of the asset as part of its $63 billion buyout of Allergan.
Adding a new indication for the CAR T cell therapy could help BMS offset the loss-of-exclusivity headwinds it faces in the coming years.
The carve-out acquisition will allow Bain to capitalize on the “promising signs for growth” in the Japanese life sciences market, recently revitalized by more industry-friendly policy changes from the government.
It is unclear why an independent data safety monitoring board recommended the suspension of Pliant’s Phase IIb/III BEACON-IPF study in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
AceLink is advancing a small-molecule treatment option for Fabry disease that could provide a more convenient alternative to the current enzyme replacement therapy standard.
Novo Nordisk’s bispecific antibody Mim8 prevented bleeding events and caused no adverse safety events in the Phase III FRONTIER3 trial. The company plans to file for approval this year, hoping to compete in the hemophilia A space with Roche’s blockbuster Hemlibra.
If the attention generated by BioSpace’s coverage of this landmark approval is any indication, Americans are hungry for non-opioid pain treatments that could help quell the still raging opioid epidemic.
Leqembi’s sales in the U.S. continue to underwhelm, overshadowed by its growth in international markets.