Has COVID-19 revolutionized the future of regulation of medicine development and authorization or are we simply responding to an unprecedented global pandemic? Our Head of Regulatory Affairs and Enhanced Services, Harriet Edwards, delves deep on how the pandemic changed the industry we work in today. COVID-19, or SARS-CoV-2, has undoubtedly changed the world as we know it, affecting daily life, health, and economics to an unprecedented degree. Due to the widespread and devastating impact of this previously unknown virus, there has been a massive effort from the pharmaceutical industry to rapidly develop a vaccine to protect the population. As a consequence of the increasingly evolving threat of COVID-19, developers and regulators have had to respond accordingly, learning about the virus while attempting to develop and regulate treatments concurrently. This article aims to examine whether COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has changed the future of regulation through identifying and discussing the notable regulatory milestones ...
More than a year ago, eight pharma giants partnered to provide cancer medicines to many of the world’s most needy nations where oncology treatments often are non-existent.On Thursday, the effort took a major step toward fruition as the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) signed up four generic drugmakers to produce copycat versions of Novartis’ myeloid leukemia blockbuster Tasigna (nilotinib). The agreement allows BrightGene of Indonesia and three Indian manufacturers—Dr. Reddy’s, Eugia and Hetero—to produce generic nilotinib, even though it remains on patent in the U.S. The generic companies plan to make their copycats in six countries—Egypt, Guatamala, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tunisia—and supply it to 44 territories. “We have seen great gains in cancer survival in the richest countries over the last decade, however, the benefit of our innovation is not reaching everyone,” Lutz Hagemann, Novartis’ president of global health and sustainability, said in a release. “Through public-private ...
By Tarun Sai Lomte Reviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLM A recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report described the progress toward eliminating rubella in the South-East Asia region (SEAR) of the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2013, SEAR countries adopted goals to eliminate measles and control congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) and rubella by 2020. In 2019, these countries announced plans to eliminate rubella and measles by 2023. The authors discussed the progress in rubella elimination in the SEAR between 2013 and 2021 in the present study. Study: Progress Toward Rubella Elimination — World Health Organization South-East Asia Region, 2013–2021. Image Credit: NovikovAleksey/Shutterstock.com Vaccination programs for Rubella The rubella-containing vaccine (RCV) was only available in Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Sri Lanka before 2013; other SEAR countries introduced the vaccine during 2013-21. Of these, only three countries offered the second dose before 2013; the remaining offered the second between 2013 and 2021. The ...
Blue Water Biotech has expanded its commercial portfolio with the purchase agreement of six assets from WraSer. The agreement includes an $8.5m cash payment and the offering of one million restricted shares. Blue Water’s deal includes treatments across cardiology, otic infections, and pain management indications and will see Zontivity (vorapaxar), Trezix (acetaminophen-caffeine-dihydrocodeine), Nalfon (fenoprofen calcium), Conjupri (levamlodipine), Otovel (ciprofloxacin and fluocinolone acetonide) and Cetraxal (ciprofloxacin) all exchange hands to Blue Water’s ownership. All six treatments are US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved. At market open, shares in Blue Water surged 90% higher than the previous day’s (13 June) market close. The company has a market cap of $20m. Blue Water’s major purchasing agreement comes at a time when pharma mergers and acquisitions are beginning to pick up after a slow start to 2023. Included in the agreement are the patents related to Zontivity – a medication for patients with ...
Seeking to launch their respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prevention antibody for infants later this year, Sanofi and AstraZeneca have cleared one more regulatory hurdle.Thursday, experts on the FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee voted 21 to 0 that nirsevimab boasts a favorable benefit-risk profile to protect against RSV-associated lower respiratory disease in infants born during or entering their first RSV season. On a separate question of whether the drug has a favorable benefit-risk profile in children up to 24 months of age who remain vulnerable through their second RSV season, the vote was 19 to 2 in favor of the drug. “Most babies hospitalized with RSV are born at term and healthy, which is why interventions specifically designed to protect all infants are likely to result in the greatest impact,” Sanofi’s executive vice president of vaccines, Thomas Triomphe, said in a Thursday statement. “We are encouraged by the Advisory Committee’s positive ...
By Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN CNN — Advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted Thursday to endorse a monoclonal antibody designed to protect infants and some young toddlers from RSV. Members of the agency’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee voted 21-0 that the benefit-risk profile of nirsevimab was favorable in infants and 19-2 that it was favorable in children up to 24 months who are vulnerable to severe respiratory syncytial virus. Next, the FDA will consider the advice of the advisers and decide whether to approve the treatment. The monoclonal antibody, nirsevimab, was developed by AstraZeneca and Sanofi. It’s designed to be given to infants in a single shot at birth or just before the start of a baby’s first RSV season, or as a larger dose in a second RSV season in children who are highly vulnerable. If approved, it will be the first single-dose preventative treatment for all ...
Rates of vaccination in the U.S. have dropped in recent years, with the COVID-19 pandemic hitting uptake. GSK, with a new vaccine to market, is looking to help turn this around.GSK is running a new “COiMMUNITY Initiative” that will add new funds, deeper data transparency and collaboration for all vaccine uptake across the country. On the money side, GSK said in a press release that it is “committing” up to $1 million in grant funding to support groups focused on adult immunization and health equity. On the data and collaboration side, GSK said it will continue to make adult vaccination claims data available through Vaccine Track platform, which publishes on a quarterly basis. The company also said it will “enhance the platform’s capabilities.” GSK is also looking to open the platform up to public and private stakeholders “to potentially integrate and host additional data and viewpoints on adult vaccination trends,” ...
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals isn’t letting up with its COVID-19 vaccine patent allegations. Late last week, the company filed its third set of lawsuits against the two largest manufacturers of coronavirus vaccines. Once again, RNA specialist Alnylam is accusing Pfizer and Moderna of violating its lipid particle delivery technology with their lucrative COVID-19 vaccines. Specifically, Alnylam claims that Pfizer stepped on four of its patents and that Moderna infringed three. With the lawsuits, it’s seeking a “reasonable royalty” for the alleged damages. The new suits come after Alnylam originally sued the two last March, arguing that it invented the delivery tech utilized by the vaccines more than a decade ago. Then, in July, the biotech followed up with new claims. Earlier this month, Moderna hit back against the claims in a set of countersuits, alleging that Alnylam “baselessly seeks to profit” from its inventions. Moderna pointed out that the company “based its ...
Published in Nature Immunology and Nature Briefing, the research is the first of its kind to decisively map immune responses produced by a COVID-19 vaccination in any First Nations populations. In partnership with Menzies School of Health Research, researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) evaluated immune responses in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous individuals after receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Lead author of the study and PhD candidate at the Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne’s Wuji Zhang, said the research provides strong evidence that COVID-19 vaccination triggers effective immune responses against the virus in First Nations peoples. “We found excellent antibody and T cell responses against SARS-CoV-2 in Australian First Nations peoples following COVID-19 vaccination. We saw high levels of antibodies binding to the virus following two vaccine doses,” Mr Zhang said. “T cells against the spike protein, which often recognize ...
Unlocking the potential of human genetics is key to many advances in the biopharma industry. From immunotherapies that treat cancer to potential cures for rare diseases to mapping the genome for incredible medical discoveries, researchers have still only scratched the surface of what is possible in gene science. Just last week, the FDA approved the first-ever gene therapy that can be applied directly to the skin to treat patients known as “butterfly children” because of how fragile their skin can be. These kinds of forward-thinking medicines have come about due to the ever more advanced understanding of how genetics cause certain conditions. And early research in the genetic space — even that which might not appear directly related to medicine — has given scientists the tools to make better treatments down the road. Some of those treatments are on their way to helping patients soon. One cell therapy in late-stage ...
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