Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. and Merck & Co. Inc. have voluntarily pulled the BLA for accelerated approval tied to their HER3-directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) in treating EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer. The partnership in the expanding ADC space began nearly two years ago in a $22 billion deal.
A court decision blocking President Donald Trump’s reciprocal and trafficking tariffs was hardly a day old before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stepped in late May 29 to grant a temporary stay while it considers the administration’s appeal. The stay adds further uncertainty to the path ahead for drug and device companies.
Developing a therapy for an ultra-rare condition has its challenges, including finding enough patients for clinical enrollment and convincing regulatory authorities that limited data prove the candidate is safe and effective. For that reason, Stealth Biotherapeutics Inc. has faced numerous roadblocks getting its mitochondria-targeting elamipretide across the finish line for Barth syndrome, a condition that affects about 230 to 250 males worldwide, including fewer than 150 in the U.S.
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is asking for help in its search for “freeloaders” that refuse to shoulder their share of the cost of biopharma R&D.
Without convening the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy decided to bring the government’s COVID-19 vaccine recommendations in line with the FDA’s new “evidence-based” approach to the shots.
A former board member of Chinook Therapeutics Inc. and four others were charged May 22 in a 19-count indictment stemming from an alleged insider trading scheme that produced more than $600,000 in profits after the June 2023 announcement that Novartis AG was acquiring the Seattle-based Chinook in a $3.5 billion deal.
GSK plc’s Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin) is heading back to the market three years after being withdrawn, with the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommending approval of the antibody-drug conjugate in combination therapy for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
It’s been nearly five years since the U.S. FDA, under the first Trump administration, issued a final rule and guidance on state importation plans (SIP) for importing less expensive prescription drugs from Canada. Yet only one state, Florida, has an approved SIP. In hopes of adding to that number, the FDA is enhancing its drug importation program to ease the way for states and tribes to bring prescription medicines in from Canada, at Canadian prices.
The recent emphasis on eliminating animal studies for preclinical studies of U.S. FDA-regulated products amplifies a long-standing concern, but the U.S. Government Accountability Office raised the question of whether organ-on-a-chip methods are ready to fill the gap.
U.S. FDA commissioner Marty Makary appeared at the May 22 Senate Appropriations Committee with the news the White House proposed an FDA budget for fiscal 2026 of $6.8 billion including user fees. This is a cut of 11.5% that will not likely go over well on Capitol Hill as the FY 2026 budget process unwinds.
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