Alligator Bioscience on May 26 announced that the European Commission granted orphan drug designation to HLX22, an anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of gastric cancer. HLX22 is being developed by Shanghai Henlius Biotech, Inc. under a sublicense from AbClon, Inc., which had previously licensed the antibody from Alligator.
The Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee held its first session since President Trump’s inauguration, with a two-day, back-to-back marathon meeting, signaling a return to business at FDA after significant upheaval at the agency.
In two back-to-back, all-day meetings, the FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee considered four thorny applications that the agency appeared to have been saving up as a result of the pause in activity that followed President Trump’s return to office.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary held a roundtable of independent scientific experts to discuss the safety and necessity of talc as an additive to food, drugs, and cosmetic products.
FDA—under the leadership of cyber-iconoclast and new director of the agency’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Vinay Prasad—is taking a new approach to COVID-19 vaccines.
FDA has approved Avmapki Fakzynja Co-Pack (avutometinib capsules; defactinib tablets) for the treatment of adult patients with KRAS-mutated recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer who received prior systemic therapy. Avmapki Fakzynja Co-Pack is the first and only FDA-approved medicine for this disease.
Arineta, a provider of cardiovascular imaging solutions, announced that its SpotLight Duo cardiac CT scanner has received 510(k) clearance from FDA for low-dose lung cancer screening. This clearance allows providers to use a single ultra-fast CT platform for both cardiac and lung imaging and diagnostics, delivering more complete care to high-risk patients.
FDA granted accelerated approival to Emrelis (telisotuzumab vedotin-tllv) for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic, non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer with high c-Met protein overexpression who have received a prior systemic therapy.
FDA approved Zynyz (retifanlimab-dlwr), a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting programmed death receptor-1, in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel (platinum-based chemotherapy) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with inoperable locally recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal.
Vinay Prasad, a MAHA-aligned hematologist-oncologist with an avid cyber following, was named director of the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, where he will be responsible for the agency’s regulation of vaccines and biologics, including cell and gene therapies.
