Regulatory Authority Actions

A federal court judge ordered Keystone Laboratories, Inc. of Memphis, Tennessee to stop selling over-the-counter drug products.

The agency, in partnership with international regulatory and law enforcement agencies, cracked down on 465 websites marketing illegal opioids and other drugs claiming to treat conditions such as cancer and HIV.

Takhzyro (lanadelumab) is the first monoclonal antibody therapy approved for the prevention of recurrent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in patients aged 12 years and older.

To achieve a more dynamic marketplace, FDA is issuingguidance documents and targeted advisories to support R&D on complex generics and combination products.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has published its proposed rule on the disclosure of drug prices, just in time for the November mid-term elections.

The agency is developing technology- and disease-specific regulatory frameworks for innovations that may not have previously had a clear development pathway.

The guidance describes the agency's recommendations on how to group patients with different molecular alterations and approaches for evaluating the benefits and risks of targeted therapies where some molecular alterations may occur at low frequencies.

The new guidance, Rare Diseases: 2 Early Drug Development and the Role of Pre-IND Meetings Guidance for Industry, discusses the planning of pre-IND meetings with FDA and sponsors.

Congress approves bills with provisions important to FDA and industry, some of which reflect continuing concerns about drug pricing and transparency.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has opened a consultation to seek views on how legislations and procedures of the agency may need to be modified should there be a ‘no-deal’ Brexit scenario.

The agency approved Insmed’s Arikayce (amikacin liposome inhalation suspension), for the treatment of lung disease caused by a group of bacteria, Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) in a limited population of patients with the disease who do not respond to conventional treatment (refractory disease).

FDA is joining with other federal health agencies and the biomedical research community to advance the science, regulatory policies, and reimbursement strategies to support innovation in antimicrobials.

As Europe and the United Kingdom are facing the ever-expanding shadow of Brexit, a keynote session taking place at CPhI Worldwide in Madrid will look to assess the wider implications of the UK’s exit from the European Union on the Pharma sector.

The agency sent a warning letter to the Indian company after an inspection found CGMP violations that included a lack of written procedures and analytical testing.

The company’s biosimiliar to Amgen’s Neulasta (pegfilgrastim) received a positive opinion for marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).

CDER director plans to start implementation of new review practices by the end of 2018.

The sterile-manufacturing contract development manufacturing organization is approved by FDA for viral vector manufacturing fill/finish processing at its biologics facility in Scotland, UK.

The European Medicines Agency revised the number of centrally authorized medicines for which there are concerns over Brexit-related supply disruptions.

The agency announced that differences in strength expression on product labels of compounders and conventional manufacturers may lead to dosing errors.

The agency has entered into an agreement with the National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine and has expanded agreements with the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University Centers for Regulatory Science and Innovation to conduct research on the compounding of drugs.

The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended 13 new medicines for approval, including three orphan drug candidates.

The European Medicines Agency has recommended Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec) as the first treatment option for hereditary retinal dystrophy with mutations of the RPE65 gene.

The agreement now includes 15 European Union (EU) member states.

The agency will review Praluent (alirocumab) Injection, a PCSK9 inhibitor, as a possible treatment of cardiovascular events.

FDA sent a warning letter to Lernapharm (Loris) Inc. detailing the company’s lack of procedures to prevent microbiological contamination.

FDA testing has found an additional impurity, N-Nitrosodiethylamine, in the API valsartan.

The agency approved AstraZeneca’s Lumoxiti (moxetumomab pasudotox-tdfk) injection for intravenous use for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory hairy cell leukemia.

FDA is revising its inspection process and seeks harmonization of standards for US and foreign regulatory oversight to ensure the safety of medicines.

The agency approved Teva Pharmaceutical’s Cassipa (buprenorphine and naloxone) sublingual film for the maintenance treatment of opioid dependence.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, issued a statement regarding new warning letters FDA issued to Chillin Mix Kratom and Mitra Distributing, companies marketing kratom, a potential source of opioids, with unproven medical claims.