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While the FDA did not announce the recipient names of the Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers, the agency’s descriptions of the awarded products match those in development at Compass Pathways, Transcend Therapeutics and Usona Institute.
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The FDA is signaling change, but actual success depends on more than simply bringing in a new leader at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research; it requires accountability, transparency and consistent action.
Approved Thursday via the FDA’s Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program, Otarmeni is the first gene therapy for hearing loss—and the first treatment to target an underlying cause of the condition.
With a greenlight for ibogaine to enter clinical testing and three unnamed products set to receive Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers this week, it’s full speed ahead for psychedelics. But will sidestepping normal regulatory protocols actually be a net negative for the field?
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Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
Doubling survival in pancreatic cancer, a long-fought rare disease approval, a massive IPO and ambitious biotech entrepreneurs have BioSpace Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong feeling upbeat about the biotech scene.
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Following over a year of slow uptake, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics expect Casgevy revenues to nearly triple in 2026, as patient access to the sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia gene therapy grows.
Eli Lilly has long been gearing up for the launch of orforglipron, announcing as early as February 2024 that it was ramping up manufacturing investments for the weight-loss pill.
Analysts are keeping a close eye on Vertex’s kidney disease portfolio, anchored by the IgAN drug povetacicept, as its nonopioid painkiller Journavx is poised for “incremental” growth in the first half 2026, according to BMO Capital Markets.
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.
Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research head, is accused of interpersonal impropriety as pushback builds against his decision to reject Moderna’s influenza vaccine candidate.
Moderna’s mRNA-1010 was expected to contribute $1 billion to the company’s coffers by 2028. That plan is now out the window after the FDA refused to even look at the application.
Infigratinib topped “even the most optimistic expectations” for efficacy and safety in the late-stage PROPEL 3 study in achondroplasia, Truist Securities analysts said Thursday.
The sudden departure stands in contrast to other EU pharma leaders who have been given much longer transitions in recent months, including GSK’s Emma Walmsley and Novo Nordisk’s Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen.
An unnamed FDA official also told reporters that it would be good for Moderna to “show some humility” and admit that it didn’t follow the regulator’s recommendations in testing its mRNA flu vaccine.
In this episode of Denatured, Jennifer C. Smith-Parker speaks with Dr. Rob Monroe and Jennifer Fakish at Danaher Corporation. They discuss how antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) are transforming cancer care. With AI-powered pathology, doctors can now measure HER2 more precisely to match patients with the best treatments.