By Tristan Manalac Pictured: GSK building in Poland/iStock, Wirestock The FDA on Friday approved GSK’s oral drug momelotinib, now to be marketed under the brand name Ojjaara, for the treatment of myelofibrosis in adults with anemia. Myelofibrosis patients often develop anemia, which forces them to discontinue treatment and raise the need for transfusions. Ojjaara’s approval will help address this “significant medical need in the community” and lead to better outcomes in these patients, Nina Mojas, GSK senior vice president for oncology global product strategy, said in a statement. With Friday’s approval, Ojjaara becomes the first authorized treatment for both newly diagnosed and previously treated myelofibrosis patients with anemia that also targets the key symptoms of the condition, according to the company’s press release. The approval comes after a three-month delay in June 2023, which the FDA said was to give it more time to review additional data supporting the application. ...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a draft guidance giving drug manufacturers recommendations for biosimilar and interchangeable biosimilar products, detailing tips for drafting label prescription information, on 15 September. In the “Labeling for Biosimilar and Interchangeable Biosimilar Products” document, the agency said that “the biosimilar or interchangeable biosimilar label should only be used in labelling text that is specific to the biosimilar or interchangeable biosimilar product or refers solely to it.” The FDA defines an interchangeable biosimilar as a “biosimilar that meets additional requirements and may be substituted for the reference product at the pharmacy, depending on state pharmacy laws.” The agency guided drug manufacturers to only include the drug product’s proprietary name in the following sections: indications and usage, dosage and administration, dosage forms and strengths, description and how supplied/storage and handling. The FDA also recommended its use in recommendations for preventing, monitoring, managing, or mitigating risks. ...
The updated vaccines more closely target current circulating variants The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccines, to tackle currently circulating variants. As previously recommended by the FDA, both vaccines have been adapted to closely target the XBB.1.5. Omicron variant by including a monovalent component. Both companies’ mRNA vaccines are approved for use in individuals aged 12 years and older and authorised for emergency use in those aged six months to 11 years. The FDA has said that it is “confident in the safety and effectiveness” of the two updated vaccines and that its risk assessment demonstrated that the benefits of both vaccines for individuals aged six months and older outweighed the risks. “The public can be assured that these updated vaccines have met the agency’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality,” said Peter Marks, director of the ...
Myelofibrosis can already be treated with several drugs from a class of medicines that address a pathway driving this type of blood cancer. A drug from GSK is now the latest entrant into the class, but with an additional component that specifically treats the anemia complication affecting myelofibrosis patients. FDA approval of GSK’s momelotinib covers the treatment of adult myelofibrosis patients regardless of whether or not they have been previously treated with another drug for the cancer. The regulatory decision announced late Friday marks the payoff for the pharmaceutical giant’s bet on a molecule it acquired in a $1.9 billion deal. The GSK drug, known in development as momelotinib, will be marketed under the brand name Ojjaara. In myelofibrosis, inflammation and scar tissue (fibrosis) impair the bone marrow’s ability to normally produce red blood cells. The disease leads to anemia, which must be treated with regular blood transfusions. Other complications ...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is feeling the strain on its resources and has had to delay the priority review of Iovance Biotherapeutics’s lifileucel to 2024. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date for the priority review of the Biologics License Application (BLA) for lifileucel has been postponed from 25 November 2023 to 24 February 2024. However, Iovance was quick to add that the reason for pushing the date was the FDA’s “insufficient resources” and that it was working with the agency to expedite the review for a potentially earlier approval date. The company also added that the FDA reported no major review issues, no concerns regarding the status of the confirmatory trial, and had no plans to hold an advisory committee meeting. The markets viewed the news favourably, as Iovance’s stock rose by more than 15% in pre-market trading. The company’s market cap stands at ...
By Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN CNN — The FDA sent warnings letters to eight companies for marketing and manufacturing of unapproved eye products. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images The US Food and Drug Administration on Monday sent warning letters to CVS, Walgreens and other companies over manufacturing and marketing of unapproved eye products the agency says could pose a risk to people who use them. The agency said the products are illegally marketed to treat conditions including conjunctivitis — pink eye — glaucoma and cataracts, and some of the warnings cited sterility issues with the products. The agency issued warning letters to CVS Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., Boiron Inc., DR Vitamin Solutions, Natural Ophthalmics Inc., OcluMed LLC, Similasan AG/Similasan USA and TRP Company Inc. Some companies have also been placed on import alert to stop products from entering the United States. “The FDA is particularly concerned that these illegally marketed, unapproved ophthalmic ...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted nine to three in favour of expanding the label of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ Onpattro (Patisiran) at a 13 September Advisory Committee (AdCom) meeting. A possible approval would allow the drug to be used to treat cardiomyopathy caused by a wild-type or hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR/ ATTR-CM). At a Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs AdCom meeting, a panel reviewed results from the Phase III (NCT03997383) APOLLO-B trial. In the study, the drug showed favourable effects on functional capacity and quality of life. The drug also demonstrated a good safety profile through the 18 months of treatment with most adverse events being mild or moderate, as per May 2023 interim results. The AdCom discussed if the results from the APOLLO-B study were enough to prove a clinically meaningful benefit for the drug in the new indication. Dr Eric Peterson, a professor of internal medicine at the ...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted Takeda’s biologics license application (BLA) for the company’s investigational subcutaneous administration of Entyvio (vedolizumab) for the treatment of Crohn’s disease. The BLA, which is for maintenance therapy of moderate to severe active forms of the disease after induction therapy with IV vedolizumab, will now be reviewed by the FDA alongside a separate BLA submitted by Takeda for the same formulation indicated for ulcerative colitis treatment. Dr Vijay Yajnik, vice president and head of US Medical for Gastroenterology at Takeda said in a statement: “With two applications for a subcutaneous option of Entyvio now under FDA review, we remain firm in our commitment to the inflammatory bowel disease community—adults with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease—and the healthcare professionals actively managing their care.” Takeda submitted the most recent BLA with data from a Phase III clinical trial demonstrating that Entyvio led to a ...
Dive Brief The Food and Drug Administration has issued advice on how to mitigate the risk of cell and tissue products transmitting tuberculosis. The recommendations follow a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that showed two recipients of bone matrix products died. In July, Aziyo Biologics, now rebranded as Elutia, recalled its viable bone matrix (VBM) products after two patients developed post-surgical infections. Elutia withdrew all of its VBM products and pivoted to drug-eluting biomatrices in response to its second link to tuberculosis since 2021. The FDA’s advice covers the role of the responsible person and donor screening. While the FDA has yet to authorize a donor screening test, it is “evaluating the risks and appropriate mitigation strategies including testing.” Dive Insight Elutia, then called Aziyo, found itself at the center of reports of tuberculosis cases in June 2021. At the time, the company voluntarily recalled a ...
By Hayley Shasteen Pictured: FDA headquarters, iStock, GrandbrothersT he FDA’s Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee on Wednesday voted 9-3 in favor of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ patisiran on whether its benefits outweigh its risks for the treatment of adults with cardiomyopathy induced by transthyretin amyloidosis. In the company’s announcement on Wednesday, Alnylam CMO Pushkal Garg said the “positive outcome” of the adcomm meeting is “supported by the efficacy and safety data observed in the APOLLO-B Phase III study and is another step toward bringing patients with the cardiomyopathy of ATTR amyloidosis a novel treatment option that addresses the underlying cause of disease and has the potential to meaningfully benefit patients’ functional capacity and quality of life.” The decision came after the panel’s day-long meeting in which adcomm members discussed whether the treatment effects demonstrated by data from Alnylam’s Phase III APPOLLO-B clinical trial were clinically meaningful for patients with cardiomyopathy induced ...
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