Regulatory

Representatives of companies including AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson and Merck have voiced concerns about the FDA’s approach to pre-approval inspections.
The FDA had previously turned back the heart rhythm nasal spray twice, once in late 2023 with a refusal to file letter and again in March this year, when it flagged manufacturing issues.
The FDA’s Vinay Prasad recently claimed in an internal memo that at least 10 children have died from coronavirus vaccines, but an internal safety review showed that the count was much lower.
With notable therapies from Biogen, Sarepta and MacroGenics failing to show efficacy in pivotal or confirmatory trials, experts question the use of biomarker evidence for approval while one former regulator insists that a “failed trial is not a failed drug.”
Coming up in the back half of December, the FDA will issue a verdict on Vanda Pharmaceuticals’ gastroparesis drug tradipitant, which it rejected last September, triggering a very public dispute with the company.
With five CDER leaders in one year and regulatory proposals coming “by fiat,” the FDA is only making it more difficult to bring therapies to patients.
FDA
The FDA is becoming deeply compromised and increasingly at risk of being permanently transformed in ways contrary to its mission, history and culture.
The Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program was launched in June to shorten review times for companies that align with various national priorities, such as improving domestic drug production and supply.
Pfizer deals again in obesity space as Wave and Structure drop splashy weight loss results; what CDER Director Richard Pazdur’s sudden retirement means for biopharma; neuro diseases take center stage at CTAD; and more.
After a series of unfortunate regulatory rejections and manufacturing issues surfaced, Regeneron’s shares dipped to $483 this summer—the lowest they’d been since early 2021. But they now sit higher than they did at the start of the year.
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