A monoclonal antibody developed by Genentech (Roche) for multiple sclerosis (MS) has been approved for marketing in the US, the first therapy to show a delay in disability for those with progressive forms of the disease. In clinical trials, Ocrevus performed better than Rebif, the standard of care.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for women with ovarian cancer whose disease has recurred despite treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy. The drug, Zejula (niraparib), is a poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor.
Novo Nordisk A/S has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for its new treatment for haemophilia B, a genetic disorder caused by missing or defective factor IX, a blood clotting protein.
An antibody checkpoint inhibitor has become the first drug to be approved in the US for Merkel cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer where fewer than half of patients survive more than one year.
Two years after launching in Europe, the Parkinson’s disease drug Xadago (safinamide) has been approved in the US as an add-on treatment to the combination therapy levodopa/carbidopa. The new approval means it will be available in both regions for treating symptoms of the disease such as tremor and impaired mobility.
President Donald Trump announced on 10 March that he intends to nominate Scott Gottlieb as head of the Food and Drug Administration. Mr Trump has chosen a medical doctor with considerable experience in the politics of medicine, often arguing on television and in print that increasing competition is the way to deal with the medical industry’s complex problems.
Denmark-based ALK-Abelló A/S is preparing for an expansion of its business in the US following the Food and Drug Administration’s approval on 1 March of its allergy immunotherapy tablet Odactra for adults with house dust mite allergies.
The European Medicines Agency is recommending approval of Natpar (parathyroid hormone) to treat patients with chronic hypoparathyroidism who require more than calcium and vitamin D. If approved by the European Commission, Natpar would be the first hormone replacement therapy for this condition.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the monoclonal antibody brodalumab to treat adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, an autoimmune disorder that causes patches of redness and flaking on the skin.
The coming into force next year of new European rules governing clinical trials will simplify trial application procedures and make more study information available to the public. At a meeting of the European Forum for Good Clinical Practice on 22 February, healthcare professionals discussed how the new rules on transparency should build public confidence in the regulatory system and avoid potentially serious accidents.