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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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Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
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.
THE LATEST
Gene therapy company uniQure announced Tuesday “ongoing evidence” of a clinical benefit for its Huntington’s disease treatment. However, investors were not impressed as the stock dropped nearly 20%.
On this episode of the Weekly: Biden administration puts pressure on the biopharma industry; renewed interest in psychedelics after MindMed announces LSD-based candidate meets primary endpoint; bluebird changes its tune.
The competition between Merck’s pneumococcal vaccine and Pfizer’s Prevnar series of vaccines is intensifying after the regulator granted priority review to the former’s BLA for V116.
A court in Germany on Tuesday nullified one of CureVac’s intellectual property rights in a patent case against BioNTech. However, court proceedings involving seven other patent rights will continue.
With an upfront payment of $185 million, GSK on Wednesday added another exclusive antibody-drug conjugate license agreement with China-based Hansoh Pharma.
Continued fallout from the IRA, heightened antitrust enforcement and the rise of AI will all shape the first wave of biotech mergers and acquisitions coming this year, experts tell BioSpace.
Argenx’s subcutaneous Fc receptor blocker efgartigimod was unable to induce a significantly higher rate of complete remission than placebo in the skin autoimmune disease. The company’s stock plummeted in response to the news.
Also called an umbrella or basket trial, the master trial allows for a more targeted approach to cancer treatment, faster patient enrollment and the flexibility to pivot.
FDA
Chiesi Global Rare Diseases gained access to the Filsuvez topical gel in January 2023, when it bought Amryt Pharma. Tuesday’s approval comes nearly two years after an initial rejection by the regulator.
The European Commission upheld exclusive marketing protection in Europe for Biogen’s multiple sclerosis therapy Tecfidera until February 3, 2025, staving off generic competition.