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FDA
Ahead of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearings, experts—and RFK’s own family—expressed concerns about his vaccine-related views, though the same experts are largely unfazed by the level of power he and Marty Makary could ultimately wield over the FDA.
After two years characterized by layoffs, pipeline reorganizations, FDA delays and clinical holds, Novavax CEO John Jacobs says the company is at a pivot point.
Riding recent momentum in the Duchenne muscular dystrophy space, Capricor Therapeutics, Wave Life Sciences, Regenxbio and more aim to deliver the next wave of progress with near-term data and regulatory milestones.
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Drugmaker Eli Lilly & Company today announced the FDA expects to convene a meeting of the Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee to further review and discuss donanemab’s efficacy and safety profile before making its final decision on whether to grant the drug approval.
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The HHS secretary recently canceled $500 million worth of BARDA contracts around mRNA vaccine research. But the U.S. government has already spent billions on this work, which has saved millions of lives.
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Pfizer’s sasanlimab, when used with standard of care, reduced the likelihood of disease recurrence or progression, death due to any cause or persistence of cancer cells by 32% in patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
The targeted drug release device TAR-200 shows promising response and disease-free survival rates in specific populations of patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
The FDA is currently reviewing Merck’s sBLA for Keytruda in head and neck cancer, with a target action date of June 23.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025. With the deal, Merck KGaA is adding to its rare disease and oncology pipelines.
With ivonescimab’s data coming solely from China, its prospects in the U.S., where Summit owns the rights, remain up in the air.
FDA
As tariffs, HHS workforce cuts and the ouster of CBER Director Peter Marks threaten the “lifeblood” of the cell and gene therapy space, experts express wariness over the unknowns and optimism that Marks’ legacy will carry on.
The cell and gene therapy company is cutting 47 employees and its entire lupus program to focus resources on two CAR Ts. The move follows a reconfiguration last year to move into immunology.
FDA
As Marty Makary nears the end of his first month on the job, the FDA Commissioner sat down for two interviews, offering statements that alternatively contradict and jibe with reported events.
While AbbVie handily beat expectations this quarter, the company faces declining Humira sales and a challenged aesthetics business, plus the same macro headwinds blowing against the entire industry.
The hold, placed by the FDA on an early-stage clinical trial of an experimental BET inhibitor, stems from a recent observation of testicular toxicity in canines given the treatment.