By Tristan Manalac The FDA on Wednesday approved CorMedix’s DefenCath (taurolidine and heparin) to reduce catheter-related blood stream infections in adults with kidney failure who are on chronic hemodialysis through a central venous catheter. DefenCath is the first FDA-approved antimicrobial catheter lock solution in the U.S., according to CorMedix’s announcement. CorMedix expects DefenCath to be available in the inpatient setting in the first quarter of 2024. The company’s stock was trading 35% higher Wednesday morning in response to the approval, according to Seeking Alpha. CorMedix CEO Joseph Todisco in a statement said that DefenCath’s approval was a “major advancement” for preventing life-threatening infections and provides doctors “an option to reduce the risk of infections in a patient population already vulnerable due to underlying kidney failure.” DefenCath is a combination of the amino acid derivative taurolidine and the anticoagulant heparin. Taurolidine has demonstrated strong antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, ...
By Tyler Patchen The FDA has approved Bristol Myers Squibb’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor Augtyro (repotrectinib) to treat patients with locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer, augmenting the company’s arsenal of cancer and NSCLC treatments. According to BMS’s Wednesday announcement, the drug is meant to “minimize interaction” that can lead to certain forms of treatment resistance in ROS1-positive NSCLC patients. The FDA approved the drug based on the TRIDENT-1 study evaluating Augtyro in TKI-naïve and TKI-penetrated patients. Results showed that for TKI-naïve individuals, the objective response rate (ORR) was 79%, with a median duration of response of 34.1 months. For patients that were TKI-penetrated and had no chemotherapy, the ORR was 38%, with a median duration of response of 14.8 months. “New treatment options continue to be needed for patients with ROS1 fusion-positive NSCLC that support important clinical goals, including achieving durable therapeutic responses,” Jessica J. Lin, the ...
Takeda’s Adzynma (ADAMTS13, recombinant-krhn) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first therapeutic option for congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (cTTP), an ultra-rare inherited blood clotting disorder. Estimated to affect fewer than 1,000 people in the US, cTTP is caused by a deficiency in the ADAMTS13 enzyme that regulates blood clotting. Patients with cTTP can experience severe bleeding episodes, strokes and damage to vital organs, and mortality rates are high if left untreated. “Without treatment, cTTP is ultimately fatal,” said Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. He continued: “[The] approval reflects important progress in the development of much-needed treatment options for patients affected by this life-threatening disorder.” Until now, cTTP treatment has typically involved plasma therapy, which Takeda has previously described as “insufficient in restoring ADAMTS13, time-consuming and costly”. Adzynma, which has been authorised for use as a preventative ...
BY SEAN WHOOLEY Conforming devices can be identified by their serial number. The FDA today issued a notice saying the recall of Medtronic (NYSE: MDT)+ McGrath Mac video laryngoscopes is Class I, the most serious kind. Medtronic in October warned on stolen, defective McGrath Mac video laryngoscopes offered for sale by unauthorized third parties. The company initiated a recall as a result of the stolen, defective products. The company informed the public of the illegal offering of the devices by third parties through various social media platforms. Affected products failed to pass Medtronic’s rigorous tests established for the product. The company did not release them for sale, distribution or importation. Potential adverse effects from defective scopes include hypoxia, hypercapnia, tissue damage/trauma and/or a delay to treatment. More details on the Medtronic recall The recall affects 5,709 devices in the U.S., distributed between July 5, 2019, and July 14, 2022. Medtronic’s ...
Dive Brief The Food and Drug Administration has cleared the first over-the-counter COVID-19 antigen test via a traditional premarket review pathway. Acon Laboratories secured the 510(k) clearance for its Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test. The firm received emergency use authorization (EUA) in 2021 and, by following in the footsteps of Cue Health’s de novo molecular test, converted that approval into a conventional clearance. The clearance gives Americans another fully authorized test ahead of an infectious respiratory disease season in which testing volumes are forecast to be down compared to prior years. Dive Insight The EUA program enabled the FDA to quickly make COVID-19 tests available in the U.S. during the public health emergency. Today, the administration maintains EUAs on 65 antigen tests and 276 molecular diagnostic tests for COVID-19. While the EUAs remain in effect, the FDA is encouraging manufacturers to transition to its normal pathways now that the acute ...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted priority review for Bristol Myers Squibb’s (BMS) Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel) to treat patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date for the therapy is now 14 March 2024. BMS submitted a supplemental biologics licence application (sBLA) to the FDA for the expanded use of Breyanzi for the treatment of patients with CLL and SLL who have previously received a Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi) and a B-cell lymphoma 2 inhibitor (BCL2i). The application is based on results from the Phase I/II TRANSCEND CLL 004 study, which demonstrated clinical benefit with a CD19-directed CAR T cell therapy in patients with relapsed or refractory CLL after prior treatment with BTKi and BCL2i. In May 2023, BMS received approval from the European Commission (EC) for Breyanzi to treat relapsed ...
Takeda’s Fruzaqla (fruquintinib) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in certain patients with previously-treated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Fruzaqla, which inhibits all three VEGF receptor kinases, has been specifically authorised for use in adults with mCRC who have been previously treated with chemotherapy, an anti-VEGF therapy, and in some cases, an anti-EGFR therapy. The FDA’s decision makes Fruzaqla the first targeted treatment options approved in the US for metastatic CRC regardless of biomarker status or prior therapies in more than a decade and was supported by results from the late-stage FRESCO and FRESCO-2 trials, which evaluated Fruzaqla plus best supportive care versus placebo plus best supportive care in previously-treated mCRC patients. Both trials met their primary and key secondary efficacy endpoints and showed consistent benefit among a total of 734 patients treated with Fruzaqla, Takeda said, adding that the drug demonstrated a “manageable ...
Valneva’s chikungunya vaccine has been granted accelerated approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in individuals ages 18 years and older who are at an increased risk of exposure to the mosquito-borne disease. The decision makes Ixchiq, which is administered as a single intramuscular injection, the world’s first licensed chikungunya vaccine. Chikungunya often causes sudden large outbreaks with high attack rates, affecting one-third to three-quarters of the population in areas where the virus is circulating. Infection leads to symptomatic disease in up to 97% of people after three to seven days following the mosquito bite, with clinical symptoms including fever, joint and muscle pain, headache, nausea and rash. “Infection with chikungunya virus can lead to severe disease and prolonged health problems, particularly for older adults and individuals with underlying medical conditions,” said Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. He added: ...
The FDA on Wednesday approved Takeda’s fruquintinib for previously treated adults patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The oral targeted therapy of the VEGF-1, -2 and -3 receptors will carry the brand name Fruzaqla. Fruzaqla’s label covers patients who had received prior lines of treatment with fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin and irinotecan chemotherapy, as well as an anti-VEGF agent. In wild-type RAS metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), and if medically appropriate, the therapy is also indicated for patients who had previously received anti-EGFR treatment. Wednesday’s approval comes more than 20 days before its scheduled target action date and makes Fruzaqla the “first and only selective inhibitor of all three VEGF receptor kinases approved in the U.S. for previously treated mCRC regardless of biomarker status,” according to Takeda’s announcement. “Fruzaqla is the first novel chemotherapy-free treatment option approved for patients in the U.S. regardless of biomarker status in more than a decade,” Teresa Bitetti, president ...
FDA restricts use of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) combination in the treatment of gastric cancer to patients with certain tumor types. The FDA has amended the currently approved indication for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus trastuzumab (Herceptin), fluoropyrimidine, and platinum-containing chemotherapy in the treatment of gastric cancer. The agency’s updated indication remains under accelerated approval regulations, but restricts the use of Keytruda to patients whose tumors express PD-L1 with a combined positive score (CPS) of one or more as determined by an FDA-approved test for the treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. The FDA also approved the Agilent PD-L1 immunohistochemistry 22C3 pharmDx companion diagnostic device to help identify patients with gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma whose tumors express PD-L1. Keytruda is an anti-PD-1 therapy that has been found to increase the immune system’s ability to detect and fight tumor cells. The humanized monoclonal antibody inhibits the interaction ...
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