Don Tracy, Associate Editor Phase II clinical study showed that children as young as six years of age with hepatitis B virus could benefit from treatment with Vemlidy. The FDA has approved an expanded indication for Gilead’s Vemlidy (tenofovir alafenamide), to treat chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in pediatric patients aged six years and older who weigh at least 25 kg and have compensated liver disease. In 2016, the medication was initially approved for adults with chronic HBV and compensated liver disease, with an extended use approved in 2022 for children aged 12 years and above. Approval for the expanded indication was based on positive results stemming from Gilead’s Phase II clinical trial (Trial 1092) after 96 weeks, showing safety and efficacy in younger children. According to the study data, participants experienced progressive increases in the rates of virological suppression compared to those administered a placebo.1 “Chronic hepatitis B ...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing an at-a-glance summary of news from around the agency: On Thursday, the FDA made several updates to the Mammography Quality Standards Act and Program section on the FDA Website to enhance user experience and provide the most up-to-date information, including reordering and renaming the landing pages so the information is easier to find and updating and deleting old data to provide the public with current information. On Thursday, the FDA launched the Searchable Tobacco Products Database, a new user-friendly list of tobacco products—including e-cigarettes—that may be legally marketed in the United States. The database is designed to serve the public—especially retailers—by providing this key information in a single location, with easy-to-use search capabilities. The database, which can be accessed here. The database will be updated on a monthly basis. On Wednesday, the FDA authorized marketing of the Medline Autologous Regeneration of ...
Dive Brief Renovo received a warning letter in October for supplying reprocessed medical devices without seeking 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration. The letter, which the FDA published Tuesday, accuses Renovo of providing reprocessed models other than the ones covered by its 510(k) clearances. Renovo failed to evaluate how cleaning and re-sterilization of the additional models could affect performance and reliability. FDA inspectors also identified problems with Renovo’s approach to air particulate sampling that prompted warnings about the failure to establish control procedures. Dive Insight Renovo cleans medical devices that have been used in procedures such as the ablation of soft tissue for reuse. Renovo has multiple 510(k) clearances that permit the company to supply reprocessed versions of devices such as Depuy Mitek Ablation Wands and Ethicon Bladeless Trocars. The problem, according to the FDA, is that Renovo has reprocessed models that are outside of the scope of ...
Dive Brief Roche has received Food and Drug Administration approval for the first molecular test to screen U.S. blood donors for malaria, the company said Tuesday. In 2022, the FDA recommended preventing people from giving blood for a time after they return from an area with malaria because there was no licensed test to screen donors. Other countries including Australia, England and France use antibody testing to avoid excluding potential donors. Roche’s Cobas malaria molecular test screens whole blood samples for the five main species of parasites that cause infections. The company is pitching the test as a way to improve the safety and availability of blood. Dive Insight Around 2,000 people are diagnosed with the mosquito-borne disease in the U.S. each year, typically after traveling to a country where malaria transmission occurs. The potential for donors to unknowingly pass the parasite on to recipients of their donations led the ...
Don Tracy, Associate Editor Approval of Vafsen (vadadustat) based on promising results from the INNO2VATE program and additional safety data from use in Japan in adults with chronic kidney disease.Akebia Therapeutics announced that the FDA has approved Vafsen (vadadustat) for the treatment of anemia in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are on dialysis. According to a company press release, the once-daily, oral tablet works as a hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase (HIF-PH) inhibitor, activating the physiologic response to hypoxia to stimulate endogenous production of erythropoietin to manage anemia. In other words, it copies the body’s response to low oxygen levels. The FDA based the approval was on positive outcomes from the INNO2VATE program and additional safety data from its use in Japan, where it was launched in August 2020. Now approved in 37 countries, Akebia stated that Vafsen has the potential to improve overall outcomes for patients struggling with ...
Don Tracy, Associate Editor Action marks the first FDA-approved blood screening test for malaria. Roche announced that the FDA has officially approved the Cobas Malaria test, focused on inspecting blood donors for malaria, aiming to enhance the safety of blood supply. The test, which screens blood samples for five species of Plasmodium parasites, is the first of its kind approved for this purpose and aims to reduce the risk of malaria transmission through transfusions. Roche stated that it expects the test to be available in the United States at some point during the second quarter of this year.1 “As the first FDA-approved blood screening test for malaria, this represents an important step forward in safeguarding the global supply of donated blood,” said Matt Sause, CEO, Roche Diagnostics, in a press release. “The approval of cobas Malaria represents a significant advancement in malaria detection, offering healthcare professionals a reliable tool for ...
Merck drug Winrevair is the first in a new class of pulmonary arterial hypertension therapies that address a key signaling pathway behind the disease. The drug comes from Merck’s $11.5 billion acquisition of Acceleron Pharma. By FRANK VINLUANPulmonary arterial hypertension, a disease that leads to worsening lung and heart problems that eventually become life-threatening, is treated with drugs that alleviate symptoms. FDA approval of a new Merck drug marks the first for a therapy addressing an underlying cause of the disease. The Tuesday approval of the Merck drug covers the treatment of adults whose pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is at intermediate or high risk of progression. The drug, known in development as sotatercept, will be marketed under the brand name Winrevair. Hypertension—high blood pressure—is common. PAH is a rare form of hypertension that specifically affects the arteries carrying blood from the right side of the heart and into the lungs. ...
BIO-THERA Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd (SSE: 688177), a global science-based and innovative biopharmaceutical company based in Guangzhou, China, hereinafter referred to as “BIO-THERA” or the “Company”, today announced that its Phase II clinical trial application (IND) for BAT8006 (ADC- FRα) for injection has been approved by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA). The Company today announced that it has recently received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a Phase II clinical trial (IND) of its investigational drug, BAT8006 for injection, to evaluate its efficacy and safety in patients with platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer. Previously, BAT8006 has initiated a Phase I dose-escalation and dose-expansion study in China with phase I data. BAT8006 is an antibody drug coupling (ADC) developed by BIO-THERA targeting folate receptor alpha (FRα), which is intended to be developed for the treatment of solid tumors.FRα is a folate-binding protein located ...
Corticosteroids are a standard first-line treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, but these drugs have many side effects. FDA approval of Italfarmaco’s Duvyzat is the first nonsteroidal drug to pass the agency’s regulatory bar for treating this rare disease. By FRANK VINLUANDuchenne muscular dystrophy has several approved drugs, including a gene therapy that provides children who have the rare, inherited muscle-wasting disease the option of a one-time treatment. But each of these therapies only treats certain defined patient groups. While corticosteroids can reach more Duchenne patients, they introduce many side effects. The FDA just approved the first nonsteroidal Duchenne drug. The late Thursday approval of Italfarmaco drug givinostat covers patients age 6 and older and spans all genetic variants that drive the inherited disease. The twice-daily oral suspension will be marketed under the brand name Duvyzat. In an email, Italfarmaco said Duvyzat’s price has not yet been set. The Milan, Italy-based ...
Davy James MVR-T3011 IT is in development to treat patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer whose disease progressed following platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one prior line of a PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. ImmVira’s oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) therapy MVR-T3011 IT for intratumoral injection has been granted Fast Track designation by the FDA to treat patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) whose disease progressed following platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one prior line of an anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy.1 The novel oHSV treatment is a genetically engineered virus developed to produce replication potency in tumor cells as well as highly restricted replication in normal cells. The ability of MVR-T3011 to boost the immune response within the tumor microenvironment is increased by adding a PD-1 antibody and IL-12 into the construct, according to ImmVira. “Attaining ...
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