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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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The company disclosed Thursday in a second-quarter report that it will continue advancing its chronic refractory gout treatment but is suspending further investments in its pipeline.
The German company on Thursday said it is launching three late-stage studies of its obesity drug candidate after the injectable showed up to 19% weight loss after 46 weeks in a mid-stage trial.
Some experts question the value of recently issued FDA guidance that aims to address gaps in the quality of unapproved laboratory tests for cancer.
FDA
After two prior setbacks, the regulator has finally approved Ipsen’s palovarotene to treat fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. It’s the first treatment for the ultra-rare bone disease.
Mifepristone’s legal saga continues as the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for steep restrictions on the drug’s access, though its effectivity is pending the Supreme Court’s review.
The company’s first-in-class small molecule imipridone, ONC201, showed strong efficacy results in two early-stage clinical trials of 71 pediatric patients with H3K27M-mutant diffuse midline gliomas.
The clinical trial testing Seagen’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor Tukysa, in combination with Genentech’s Kadcyla, met the primary endpoint of progression-free survival in HER-2 breast cancer patients.
The regulator informed bluebird bio that it will not convene an advisory committee meeting to discuss the company’s application for the gene therapy being developed for sickle cell disease.
FDA
Following a nearly decade-long effort, Delcath Systems finally won the FDA’s greenlight for its Hepzato Kit for the liver-directed treatment of adult patients with metastatic uveal melanoma.
Following injection site reactions in a Phase I study, the company is developing a new formulation for its Friedreich’s ataxia candidate setting the asset’s clinical progress back significantly.