FDA Policy/General
A dozen former FDA commissioners have issued an extraordinary public warning this week, arguing that sweeping internal directives proposed by CBER director Vinay Prasad would undermine evidence-based vaccine regulation and threaten public health. In a New England Journal of Medicine Perspective, the former officials said a memo circulated last
Drugs
The House has approved the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act, which reauthorizes FDA’s Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher program. House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) says in a committee statement that the bill “builds on current programs to accelerate research and drug
Drugs
FDA has published a draft guidance, Monoclonal Antibodies: Streamlined Nonclinical Safety Studies, to assist sponsors in implementing streamlined approaches for nonclinical safety assessments of monoclonal antibodies that recognize a singular molecular target, referred to as monospecific antibodies. The document says it is intended to facilitate drug development for monospecific antibodies
Drugs
A 6/2-6/5 FDA inspection at the Rhyz Analytical Labs contract testing laboratory in Provo, UT, found significant violations of current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations for finished drugs. A just-released 11/12 Warning Letter says the specific violations were: * failure to thoroughly investigate any unexplained discrepancy
Drugs
A 1/14-1/24 FDA inspection at the Turbare Manufacturing outsourcing facility in Conway, AR, found serious deficiencies in the firm’s practices for producing drug products intended or expected to be sterile. A just-released 9/16 Warning Letter says the agency investigator noted that products intended or
Drugs
FDA has published a guidance, QTc Information in Human Prescription Drug and Biological Product Labeling, to assist applicants in incorporating heart rate-corrected (QTc) interval of prolongation-related information in the labeling of non-antiarrhythmic human prescription drug and biological products. The document provides recommendations to help ensure that clinically
Drugs
A Washington, DC, federal judge has ruled that FDA acted unlawfully when it denied a priority review voucher to Sun Pharma and its drug Sezaby (phenobarbital sodium), the first FDA-approved treatment specifically shown to be effective for neonatal seizures. The decision criticized the agency’s reliance on a long-
Drugs
In an unexpected move, recently appointed CDER director Richard Pazdur has filed paperwork to retire by the end of the month, according to multiple reports citing people familiar with the matter. While the retirement paperwork has been filed, insiders indicate Pazdur could still change his mind and retract the resignation.
Drugs
FDA has issued an early alert concerning certain Abbott Diabetes Care glucose monitor sensors, warning patients and healthcare providers about potentially dangerous inaccuracies in blood sugar readings. The alert covers certain FreeStyle Libre 3 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensors. Abbott recently notified distributors, healthcare providers, and customers, advising that
Drugs
Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals CEO and twice-convicted felon Jared Wheat has been found guilty of orchestrating a years-long scheme to forge manufacturing safety certifications and defraud customers out of more than $4.7 million. The Norcross, Ga.–based dietary supplement manufacturer was also convicted on multiple counts, including wire
Drugs
FDA has issued a safety alert after Becton Dickinson (BD) recently recalled (Class 1 device correction) certain Alaris Pump Modules if they have been dropped or severely jarred, citing risks of inaccurate drug delivery that could lead to serious injury or death. The company notified customers 10/17 that the
Biologics
Leading vaccine experts are sharply criticizing a newly revealed FDA memo that claims ten children died “after and because of” receiving Covid-19 vaccines between 2021 and 2024. The memo, written by CBER director Vinay Prasad and obtained by several media outlets, states that the deaths were drawn from reports
Drugs
Belite Bio is reporting positive topline results from the global Phase 3 DRAGON trial of tinlarebant, marking what the company says is the first successful pivotal trial in patients with Stargardt disease Type 1 (STGD1). The eye disease leads to progressive vision loss, usually beginning in childhood or young adulthood,
Drugs
FDA says it has deployed advanced “agentic AI” capabilities to all agency employees, marking a major expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) tools for regulatory and scientific work. According to the agency, Agentic AI systems are designed to plan, reason, and execute multi-step tasks autonomously while incorporating human oversight
FDA Policy/General
FDA has issued draft guidance outlining updated current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) standards for medical gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, helium, carbon monoxide, and medical air. The draft guidance, which revises a 2017 version, incorporates new rules codified in 21 CFR part 213 that specifically address the
Devices
Glycar has recalled (Class 1) certain batches of the SJM Pericardial Patch because affected units may fail to meet required tensile-strength specifications, potentially leading to serious injury or death. The recall covers one lot of the cardiovascular surgical patch, used for pericardial closure and for the reconstruction or repair
Drugs
FDA has accepted for review a MannKind supplemental NDA for its Furoscix ReadyFlow autoinjector, a fast-acting device designed to treat edema in adults with chronic heart failure or chronic kidney disease. The agency has set a user fee review action target date of 7/26/2026. The ReadyFlow autoinjector
Drugs
FDA has approved AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) in combination with chemotherapy as a perioperative treatment for adults with resectable gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. The regimen — durvalumab plus fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel (FLOT) — will be used both before and after surgery, followed by single-agent durvalumab for up
Drugs
FDA has extended by three months its review of an Ascendis Pharma NDA for TransCon CNP (navepegritide) and its use for treating children with achondroplasia. The agency told the drugmaker that additional information Ascendis submitted earlier this month, including a revised protocol for a required post-marketing study, constituted a
Drugs
FDA has released the form FDA-483 with nine observations from a 9/8-9/16 inspection at the Fareva Amboise sterile and non-sterile drug manufacturing facility in Indre Et Loire, France. The specific observations were: * procedures designed to prevent microbiological contamination of products purporting to be sterile do
Biologics
Three Ropes & Gray attorneys say questions remain about the so-called “plausible mechanism” pathway for approving certain bespoke, personalized therapies described by FDA commissioner Marty Makary and CBER director Vinay Prasad in a recent New England Journal of Medicine article. Writing in an online post, the attorneys outline the
Devices
Baxter has recalled (Class 1) its Life2000 Ventilation System after the company discovered a cybersecurity vulnerability that could allow unauthorized individuals to alter device settings. According to an FDA notice, internal testing revealed that if someone gains physical access to an unattended Life2000 device, they could potentially change therapy settings