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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.
THE LATEST
Last month, the FDA declined to approve Sanofi’s tolebrutinib for a specific form of multiple sclerosis. In a recently published complete response letter, the agency detailed its reasoning behind the rejection.
While Zenas’ obexelimab hit the primary endpoint in the Phase III INDIGO study, it came far below the efficacy threshold set by Amgen’s B cell depleter Uplizna, approved by the FDA for IgG4-related disease last April.
The agreement, which BMO Capital Markets called a “mild positive” for Structure, appears to address Roche’s concerns about the composition of investigational weight loss drug CT-996.
OncoNano’s platform, called ON-BOARD, packages drugs in pH-sensitive micelles that ensure their specific delivery near tumors, while also preventing systemic exposure.
Next-generation automation is closing the gap between curative science and real-world demand, enabling faster development, global consistency and broader patient access to CAR T therapies.
IPO
After a strong open to the year, the public markets suffered a six-month drought that led to biotech’s tightest IPO window in years.
Only a handful of the top pharmas have signed Most Favored Nation drug pricing deals with the White House, while smaller biotechs continue to hang in limbo.
FDA
In a year that saw advisory committees placed under a particularly bright microscope at the FDA, the agency held fewer meetings than usual and agreed with its advisors only 57% of the time, Jefferies reported.
Industry leaders are focused on the resilience of key starting material supply and the knock-on effects of automation in the new year.
The fierce rivalry between Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly is alive and well, as the two companies are expected to face off with their new obesity pills this year.