Regulation & Policy

FDA expands use of Sapien heart valve

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has expanded the approved indication for an artificial heart valve manufactured by Edwards Lifesciences Corp to include patients with aortic valve stenosis who are eligible for surgery but at a high risk of complications.

FDA approves ThromboGenics’s ocriplasmin

Country
Belgium

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved ocriplasmin (Jetrea), the first pharmaceutical product for treating for symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion, which occurs when the vitreous gel of the eye fails to detach from the retina.

FDA approves new indication for Humira

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new indication for Humira (adalimumab) to include the treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis in adults. It is the seventh US approval for the drug which is marketed by Abbott Laboratories.

FDA approves Stivarga for colorectal cancer

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Stivarga (regorafenib), a multi-kinase inhibitor, to treat patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Developed by Bayer AG, the drug was approved under the agency’s priority review procedure.

FDA to support new antibiotic development

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has said it will review its regulatory guidelines and consult experts on clinical trial design in a renewed push to stimulate the development of new antibiotic drugs – a public health priority.

Avastin recommended for ovarian cancer

Country
United Kingdom

The European Medicines Agency’s CHMP is recommending that Avastin (bevacizumab) be given approval for use in combination with chemotherapy to treat women with recurrent, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.

Pharma to collaborate on clinical research

Country
United States

In what is being described as the largest initiative of its kind, 10 large pharmaceutical companies have announced the setting up a non-profit organisation through which they will collaborate to accelerate and improve clinical research.

Sweden to invest $320 million in life sciences

Country
Sweden

Sweden has announced plans to invest $320 million over four years in the life sciences of which one third will support new infrastructure for projects in translational medicine. The investment will be concentrated in the Stockholm-Uppsala region.

FDA approves Bosulif for chronic CML

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Bosulif (bosutinib) a new tyrosine kinase inhibitor from Pfizer Inc for the treatment chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) in patients who are resistant to other therapies including imatinib.

FDA approves Xtandi for prostate cancer

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new androgen receptor inhibitor, Xtandi (enzalutamide), for patients with late-stage castration-resistant prostate cancer who had previously been treated with docetaxel. Xtandi was given a priority review.