The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced an extended review of the Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Mirum Pharmaceutical’s Livmarli (maralixibat) to treat patients with cholestatic pruritus in progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC). The company announced that the FDA extended the prescription drug user fee act (PDUFA) date to allow time for a full review of a submission provided in response to an FDA information request, which is deemed to be a major amendment. The date has been pushed from 13 December to 13 March, 2024. The news was announced after markets closed on 17 October. Earlier today, Mirum’s stock opened more than 4% lower than the previous day. Mirum submitted the sNDA in February of this year based on the Phase III MARCH trial. The study was the largest randomised trial conducted for patients with PFIC. A statistically significant difference in efficacy was reported between the ...
Pictured: Test-tube containing a blood sample for measuring serum phosphorus levels/iStock, Md Saiful Islam Khan The FDA on Tuesday gave the greenlight to Ardelyx’s tenapanor, now to be marketed under the brand name Xphozah, indicated to reduce serum phosphorus levels in patients with chronic kidney disease. Tuesday’s approval covers chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients on dialysis who had previously shown an inadequate response to phosphate binders, or who are otherwise intolerant to such therapies. Xphozah’s label bears no boxed warning but carries a precaution against severe diarrhea, the most common observed adverse event during the drug’s development. Ardelyx CEO Mike Raab called Tuesday’s approval an “important milestone” for dialysis patients, their families and the larger nephrology care community. Xphozah “represents a new mechanism and new option for patients who, despite treatment with phosphate binders, continue to have elevated phosphorus.” Xphozah is taken as 30-mg oral tablets twice-daily, before the morning and evening meals. Its ...
Up until this point, immune checkpoint inhibitors have been allowed to treat early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) either before or after surgery. Thanks to a new FDA approval, a continuous immunotherapy regimen for use on both sides of surgery is now available for certain patients. The approval, for Merck’s Keytruda, clears the PD-1 inhibitor to be used both as part of a neoadjuvant regimen before surgery and as an adjuvant therapy after surgery in patients with resectable NSCLC. Patients also take chemotherapy during presurgical treatment. In a coveted win for Merck, Keytruda’s updated label (PDF) already includes data showing that, compared with neoadjuvant chemo alone, the addition of perioperative Keytruda significantly cut the risk of death by 28% in the Keynote-671 study. Patients who took neoadjuvant chemo alone lived a median 52.4 months, while the median result for the Keytruda arm wasn’t reached by the time of the analysis, ...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set up a new advisory committee to provide expertise on digital health technologies (DHTs), such as artificial intelligence, digital therapeutics and remote patient monitoring. The Digital Health Advisory Committee, which should be fully operational next year, will advise the regulator on the benefits, risks and clinical outcomes associated with the use of DHTs, as well as identify risks, barriers or consequences that could result from proposed or established FDA policy or regulation for topics related to DHTs. The committee will consist of individuals with technical and scientific expertise from diverse disciplines and backgrounds, the FDA said, to “help ensure digital health medical devices are designed and targeted to meet the needs of diverse populations”. The agency said it is currently seeking nominations of “appropriately qualified” candidates, setting an application deadline of 11 December. Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices ...
Bristol Myers Squibb’s (BMS) Opdivo (nivolumab) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an adjuvant treatment for adults and adolescents aged 12 years and older with completely resected stage 2B or 2C melanoma. The decision makes Opdivo, which is already approved in the US for use in certain melanoma patients, the only PD-1 inhibitor indicated as an adjuvant treatment for eligible patients with stages 2B, 2C and 3, as well as stage 4 completely resected melanoma. The incidence of melanoma, a type of skin cancer that develops when pigment-producing cells located in the skin grow uncontrollably, has been rising steadily over the past few decades, with more than 97,000 new cases expected to be diagnosed in the US overall this year. Melanomas can be mostly treatable when caught in the very early stages, but survival rates can decrease as the disease progresses. “Within five years ...
BY SEAN WHOOLEY The Allia IGS Pulse system. [Image courtesy of GE HealthCare] GE HealthCare (Nasdaq:GEHC)+ announced today that the FDA granted 510(k) clearance to its Allia IGS Pulse system. The latest addition to GE HealthCare’s image-guided system (IGS) offerings features a new imaging chain. GE HealthCare says it engineered this feature to provide exceptional imaging at the right dose. This enables visible impact in complex cardiology interventions regardless of patient size. Allia IGS Pulse provides a personalized workspace to meet the operator’s specific needs and preferences. As part of the new image chain, the system features a monopolar X-ray tube used to capture images for interventional procedures. GE HealthCare says the tube — the first of its kind — provides powerful, yet quiet imaging capabilities. Its small footprint also helps clinicians reach steep angulation for better understanding of the coronary artery anatomy. More about the GE HealthCare Allia IGS ...
Pfizer has announced that a new personalised treatment option, Braftovi (encorafenib) plus Mektovi (binimetinib), has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for certain lung cancer patients. The regulator’s decision specifically applies to adults with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a BRAF V600E mutation, as detected by an FDA-approved test. Lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer and NSCLC accounts for up to 85% of all lung cancers cases. Certain lung cancers are linked to acquired genetic abnormalities such as a BRAF V600E mutation, which occurs in approximately 2% of NSCLC cases. “BRAF V600E mutations identify a unique subtype of metastatic NSCLC that presents an actionable biomarker that precision medicines like Braftovi plus Mektovi combination therapy can help address,” explained Gregory Riely, an investigator in the ongoing mid-stage PHAROS trial that supported the FDA’s approval. The study, which is evaluating the combination ...
From time to time, the FDA convenes an outside group of experts to weigh in on an experimental drug or medical device, or to offer insight on a scientific matter that raises questions. The FDA has 49 committees and panels oriented around various therapeutic areas and modalities. As regulatory submissions increasingly include digital components, the agency wants to ensure it is adequately informed about these technologies. It’s adding a digital health advisory committee charged with providing that perspective. The FDA expects the new advisory committee will become fully operational in 2024. It will discuss technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, digital therapeutics, wearables, remote patient monitoring, and software. In addition, topics covered by this new committee could include decentralized clinical trials, patient-generated health data, and cybersecurity. The committee will consist of a core nine voting members, including the chair. Members serve terms of up ...
By Connor Lynch Pictured: Pfizer’s office in Belgium/iStock, Alexandros Michailidis The FDA has greenlit Pfizer’s ulcerative colitis drug etrasimod, marketed as Velsipity, based on Phase III results published in The Lancet, the company announced Friday. Pfizer’s Elevate UC Phase III registrational program, consisting of the Elevate UC 52 and Elevate UC 12 clinical trials, examined the safety and efficacy of a 2-mg daily dose of the oral medication for patients intolerant to or who had failed on trials of a conventional, biological, or Janus kinase inhibitor therapy. Both studies “achieved all primary and key secondary efficacy endpoints, with a favorable safety profile consistent with previous studies of Velsipity,” Pfizer said in Friday’s announcement. In the Elevate 52 UC trial, 27% of patients achieved clinical remission, compared to 7% of patients receiving a placebo at week 12, and by week 52 it was 32% versus 7%. In the Elevate 12 UC ...
Treatment indicated for patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic form of disease. Image Credit: Adobe Stock Images/Tex vector Pfizer revealed that the FDA has approved Braftoni (encorafenib) + Mektovi (binimetinib) for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a BRAF V600E mutation. Previously, the medication was approved for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) with a BRAF V600E mutation. “Today’s approval builds on our long-standing commitment to deliver innovative, personalized medicines to patients with lung cancer. By pursuing precision medicines that target a patient’s specific type of cancer, we are leveraging our deep understanding of tumor biology to help address the underlying cause of disease,” said Chris Boshoff, MD, PhD, chief oncology research and development officer, EVP, Pfizer. “Since its initial FDA approval in 2018, Braftovi + Mektovi combination therapy has helped thousands of people living with BRAF V600E- or V600K-mutant ...
Go to Page Go
your submission has already been received.
OK
Please enter a valid Email address!
Submit
The most relevant industry news & insight will be sent to you every two weeks.