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Disc Medicine’s leadership tried to express optimism that its rare disease therapy bitopertin can be approved based on a Phase 3 trial set to begin shortly. However, analysts are worried that the protocol was developed with former FDA leaders.
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The FDA’s refusal to review Moderna’s mRNA-based flu vaccine is “part of a disturbing pattern” of moving regulatory goalposts, according to Clay Alspach, executive director of the Alliance for mRNA Medicines. Meanwhile, streamlined communications with regulators in other countries pave the way for rapid uptake of novel modalities.
The current state of political affairs in the U.S. does not bode well for the direction of that turn. The country is at real risk of losing its long-held lead in biotech innovation.
FDA
The FDA’s refusal to review Moderna’s mRNA-based flu vaccine is part of a larger communications crisis unfolding at the agency over the past nine months that has also ensnarled Sarepta, Capricor, uniQure and many more.
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The FDA issued a rare Refusal-to-File letter to Moderna over its mRNA-based influenza vaccine application, in an unusual move that sent the biotech’s shares tumbling.
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While the last decade has brought considerable progress for patients with DMD, substantial unmet need remains. Several companies including Wave, Dyne and Avidity are looking to answer the call with investigational therapies targeting greater efficacy and broader reach.
Less than a day into his second term, President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on communications at major public health agencies, among other moves that have sent waves through the biopharma industry.
The readout comes on the heels of CagriSema’s disappointing Phase III performance, where it missed Novo’s projection of 25% weight reduction.
The unsuccessful Phase III results are the latest to suggest that the blockbuster cancer drug is finally bumping up against its limits after racking up around 50 approvals since getting its first FDA nod in September 2014.
The San Diego–based company’s molecules avoid the well-trod GLP-1 pathway in favor of an alternate route in the gut.
The settlement is the largest deal to date with the people primarily who played an “instrumental role” in driving the opioid crisis, according to the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s recent disclosures have revealed several potential conflicts of interest, including investments in two biopharma companies.
Vigil Neuroscience reported a strong safety profile and 50% sTREM2 reduction in an early-stage trial for VG-3927, potentially representing a new avenue for treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Protein degradation–focused Neomorph nabs its third Big Pharma deal of around $1.5 billion in less than a year.
In a good-news-bad-news week for Biogen, the company will cut an undisclosed number of employees, just as a higher dose of its Ionis-partnered therapy Spinraza for spinal muscular atrophy will be considered by the FDA and EMA.