11-08-2021

Breakthrough Cervical Cancer Treatment Wins Accelerated FDA Approval

Patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer whose disease has progressed on or after chemotherapy may see a ray of hope soon after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to Genmab and Seagen’s TIVDAK drug. 

TIVDAK (tisotumab vedotin-tftv) is the first and only approved antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) for the treatment of the said disease in adults. It earned the FDA’s green light after its Phase II innovaTV 204 clinical trial delivered stellar results in terms of tumor response and durability of the response. Continued approvals are likely, but not until further confirmatory trials verify more clinical benefits. 

In the Phase II trial, TIVDAK was observed in 101 patients who had recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer and has received a maximum of two prior systemic regimens, including one prior platinum-based chemotherapy treatment. 

After an assessment by an independent review committee (IRC) using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1, TIVDAK was revealed to have an objective response rate (ORR) of 95 percent, while the median duration of response (DOR) was 8.3 months. 

Approximately 14,480 new cases of invasive cervical cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year in the U.S. alone, and 4,290 women are likely to die from the disease. It is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the world. 

To Read the Complete Article at Pharmacy Times Click Here

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BioPharma Global is a mission-driven corporation, operating like a not-for-profit, dedicated to using our FDA and EMA regulatory expertise and knowledge of various therapeutic areas to help drug developers advance treatments for the disease communities with a high unmet medical need. If you are a drug developer seeking regulatory support for Orphan Drug designation, Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, other FDA/EMA expedited programs, type A, B (pre-IND, EOPs), or C meeting assistance, or IND filings, the BioPharma Global team can help. Contact us today to arrange a 30-minute introductory call.

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11-05-2021

Menarini Receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation for SEL24/MEN1703, a first in class, dual PIM/FLT3 inhibitor for the Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

The Menarini Group announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted orphan drug designation (ODD) to SEL24/MEN1703 for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). SEL24/MEN1703 is a first-in-class, orally available, dual PIM/FLT3 inhibitor, in-licensed by Menarini from Ryvu Therapeutics, and currently investigated in the DIAMOND-01 trial as a single agent for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory AML.

ODD is granted by the FDA to therapies intended for the treatment of conditions that impact fewer than 200,000 people in the US and provides companies with several incentives to support the development of therapeutics and diagnostics for rare diseases. Of note, ODD does not influence the process of regulatory approval, and drugs for rare diseases go through the same rigorous scientific review process established for any other drug.

FDA orphan drug designation represents an important milestone for SEL24/MEN1703 program,” said Elcin Barker Ergun, Chief Executive Officer of the Menarini Group. “SEL24/MEN1703 is a first-in-class, orally available, dual PIM/FLT3 inhibitor that can contribute to finding new treatment paradigms for AML where significant unmet needs exist especially as resistance develops in later lines. We look forward to advancing the clinical development of SEL24/MEN1703 in AML with a goal to ultimately provide patients with a new therapeutic option for this hard-to-treat disease.”

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Disclaimer: BioPharma Global is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within the article. Content available through the site may contain links and information to other websites. Links from BioPharma Global to third-party sites do not constitute an endorsement by BioPharma Global of the mentioned parties.

BioPharma Global is a mission-driven corporation, operating like a not-for-profit, dedicated to using our FDA and EMA regulatory expertise and knowledge of various therapeutic areas to help drug developers advance treatments for the disease communities with a high unmet medical need. If you are a drug developer seeking regulatory support for Orphan Drug designation, Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, other FDA/EMA expedited programs, type A, B (pre-IND, EOPs), or C meeting assistance, or IND filings, the BioPharma Global team can help. Contact us today to arrange a 30-minute introductory call.

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11-04-2021

FDA Puts Ultimovac’s Cancer Vaccine Support Therapy on Fast Track

Norwegian pharmaceutical company Ultimovacs ASA announced Thursday that it has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its most promising research product, UV1, as an add-on therapy to either pembrolizumab or ipilimumab in the treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

Ultimovacs, which is partnered with the Oslo Cancer Cluster, a non-profit organization comprised of hospitals, start-ups, patient organizations, and global pharmacy and technology companies, is headquartered in the Oslo Cancer Cluster’s Innovation Park.

Founded on proprietary technology developed from immunotherapy research conducted at the Oslo University Hospital, Ultimovacs is dedicated to becoming a leader in the development of broad-target, immune-stimulatory cancer vaccines.

“We are delighted UV1 has received the Fast Track designation and look forward to working more closely with the FDA to bring UV1 to melanoma patients as soon as possible,” said Ultimovacs Chief Executive Officer Carlos de Sousa“The FDA’s decision recognizes the potential synergy of UV1 and checkpoint inhibitors and will greatly encourage physicians and patients involved in our Phase II clinical trial INITIUM. We remain committed to progressing UV1 in our four ongoing Phase II clinical studies and assessing development of UV1 with pembrolizumab in advanced melanoma.”

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Disclaimer: BioPharma Global is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within the article. Content available through the site may contain links and information to other websites. Links from BioPharma Global to third-party sites do not constitute an endorsement by BioPharma Global of the mentioned parties.

BioPharma Global is a mission-driven corporation, operating like a not-for-profit, dedicated to using our FDA and EMA regulatory expertise and knowledge of various therapeutic areas to help drug developers advance treatments for the disease communities with a high unmet medical need. If you are a drug developer seeking regulatory support for Orphan Drug designation, Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, other FDA/EMA expedited programs, type A, B (pre-IND, EOPs), or C meeting assistance, or IND filings, the BioPharma Global team can help. Contact us today to arrange a 30-minute introductory call.

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11-03-2021

A New Frontier in the Fight Against Rare Disease

Approximately 30 million people in the United States—1 in 10 Americans—have been diagnosed with a rare disease, approximately two-thirds of whom are children.1 Rare disease drugs and cell or gene therapies to treat these conditions offer new hope for people living with a rare condition and are among the fastest growing areas of the drug pipeline.

Although these treatments have the potential to save lives, they also represent the most dynamic and costly area in medicine. Complex in their administration, handling and care, these high-touch therapies require customized management and services beyond what traditional pharmacies can provide.

Serving Rare Disease Patients

Rare disease specialty pharmacies offer customizable pharmacy and patient services to make it easier for people living with rare, complex, and often isolating conditions to access the therapy, care, and resources they need. Patients prescribed advanced therapies may face unique difficulties, such as upwards of a 5-year diagnostic journey, challenges with social determinants, and access to physicians and specialists familiar with their disease.

Further, advanced therapies are often complex to manage and have a very high cost. Because of this, patients with rare diseases require higher levels of service and support.

Working with a rare disease specialty pharmacy enables a single point of contact to serve as the patient’s and caregiver’s liaison to services, education, and support. This same contact forms a relationship with the patient’s provider or prescribing office, and ensures that these providers, patients, and families have the additional support they need by coordinating a team of clinical access and reimbursement specialists, pharmacists, and ancillary health providers.

Through tailored programs for each therapy and disease, along with concierge patient-centric service, rare disease specialty pharmacies streamline the treatment process and support so patients can focus on achieving their best health care outcomes.

To Read the Complete Article at Pharmacy Times Click Here

Disclaimer: BioPharma Global is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within the article. Content available through the site may contain links and information to other websites. Links from BioPharma Global to third-party sites do not constitute an endorsement by BioPharma Global of the mentioned parties.

BioPharma Global is a mission-driven corporation, operating like a not-for-profit, dedicated to using our FDA and EMA regulatory expertise and knowledge of various therapeutic areas to help drug developers advance treatments for the disease communities with a high unmet medical need. If you are a drug developer seeking regulatory support for Orphan Drug designation, Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, other FDA/EMA expedited programs, type A, B (pre-IND, EOPs), or C meeting assistance, or IND filings, the BioPharma Global team can help. Contact us today to arrange a 30-minute introductory call.

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11-02-2021

Orphazyme provides regulatory update following Type A meeting with FDA on arimoclomol in Niemann-Pick disease type C

Orphazyme A/S (ORPHA.CO; ORPH), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, today provides an update on the regulatory status in the United States of its investigational product arimoclomol for Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) following a recently held Type A meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Company had a collaborative dialogue with the FDA during the Type A meeting, which was held in order to discuss the key topics in the Complete Response Letter (CRL) issued by the FDA in June 2021. The CRL was issued based on the need for additional confirmatory evidence as well as additional qualitative and quantitative evidence to further substantiate the validity of the 5-domain NPC Clinical Severity Scale (NPCCSS), in particular the swallow domain, in the context of a lack of significant findings when using the FDA’s preferred and recommended statistical approach.

The Type A meeting resulted in the following take-aways:

  • The FDA recommended that the Company submit additional data, information, and analyses to address certain topics in the CRL and engage in further interactions with the FDA to identify a pathway to resubmission.
  • The FDA concurred with the Company’s proposal to remove the cognition domain from the NPCCSS endpoint, with the result that the primary endpoint is permitted to be recalculated using the 4-domain NPCCSS, subject to the submission of additional requested information which the Company intends to provide. To bolster the confirmatory evidence already submitted, the FDA affirmed that it would require additional in vivo or pharmacodynamic (PD)/pharmacokinetic (PK) data; the Company is considering the optimal path forward to address the FDA’s requests.

To Read the Complete Article at US Food & Drug Administration Click Here

Disclaimer: BioPharma Global is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within the article. Content available through the site may contain links and information to other websites. Links from BioPharma Global to third-party sites do not constitute an endorsement by BioPharma Global of the mentioned parties.

BioPharma Global is a mission-driven corporation, operating like a not-for-profit, dedicated to using our FDA and EMA regulatory expertise and knowledge of various therapeutic areas to help drug developers advance treatments for the disease communities with a high unmet medical need. If you are a drug developer seeking regulatory support for Orphan Drug designation, Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, other FDA/EMA expedited programs, type A, B (pre-IND, EOPs), or C meeting assistance, or IND filings, the BioPharma Global team can help. Contact us today to arrange a 30-minute introductory call.

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11-01-2021

Tetra Bio-Pharma Receives Positive Opinion for Orphan Drug Designation for QIXLEEF™ from the European Medicines Agency

Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc. (“Tetra” or the “Company”) (TSX: TBP) (OTCQB: TBPMF) (FRA: JAM1), a leader in cannabinoid-derived drug discovery and development today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) issued a positive opinion on the Company’s application for Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for its investigational medicine QIXLEEF™ as a potential treatment for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a chronic neuropathic pain condition.

Dr. Guy Chamberland, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Regulatory Officer of Tetra Bio-Pharma said “the positive opinion issued by the COMP is excellent news as Tetra continues to execute its regulatory strategy in Europe. An ODD brings several unique advantages, from a cost reduction in drug development, to an accelerated review process and market exclusivity for 10 years. Such strategy is cost and time effective and allows the Company to easily gain market shares in a competitive free environment. If granted, this would represent QIXLEEF™’s second ODD as a potential treatment for CRPS, in addition to the ODD granted by the U.S. FDA in March 2018. We firmly believe that QIXLEEF™ will be a safe and effective medicine for pain management and an alternative to opioids.”

The positive opinion issued by the COMP will be sent to the European Commission, which is expected to grant the orphan designation within 30 days. The Committee based its opinion on Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 141/2000 of 16 December 1999. The COMP based on majority of 30 out of 31 votes concluded that QIXLEEF™ satisfies the criteria for such designation and recommends the granting of orphan medicinal product designation.

To Read the Complete Article at US Food & Drug Administration Click Here

Disclaimer: BioPharma Global is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within the article. Content available through the site may contain links and information to other websites. Links from BioPharma Global to third-party sites do not constitute an endorsement by BioPharma Global of the mentioned parties.

BioPharma Global is a mission-driven corporation, operating like a not-for-profit, dedicated to using our FDA and EMA regulatory expertise and knowledge of various therapeutic areas to help drug developers advance treatments for the disease communities with a high unmet medical need. If you are a drug developer seeking regulatory support for Orphan Drug designation, Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, other FDA/EMA expedited programs, type A, B (pre-IND, EOPs), or C meeting assistance, or IND filings, the BioPharma Global team can help. Contact us today to arrange a 30-minute introductory call.

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10-29-2021

FDA, NIH, and 15 private organizations join forces to increase effective gene therapies for rare diseases

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, 10 pharmaceutical companies and five non-profit organizations have partnered to accelerate development of gene therapies for the 30 million Americans who suffer from a rare disease. While there are approximately 7,000 rare diseases, only two heritable diseases currently have FDA-approved gene therapies. The newly launched Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (BGTC), part of the NIH Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) program and project-managed by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), aims to optimize and streamline the gene therapy development process to help fill the unmet medical needs of people with rare diseases.

“By leveraging on experience with a platform technology and by standardizing processes, gene therapy product development can be accelerated to allow more timely access to promising new therapies for patients who need them most,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “FDA is committed to developing a regulatory paradigm that can advance gene therapies to meet the needs of patients with rare diseases.”

“Most rare diseases are caused by a defect in a single gene that could potentially be targeted with a customized or ‘bespoke’ therapy that corrects or replaces the defective gene,” said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. “There are now significant opportunities to improve the complex development process for gene therapies that would accelerate scientific progress and, most importantly, provide benefit to patients by increasing the number of effective gene therapies.”

To Read the Complete Article at US Food & Drug Administration Click Here

Disclaimer: BioPharma Global is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within the article. Content available through the site may contain links and information to other websites. Links from BioPharma Global to third-party sites do not constitute an endorsement by BioPharma Global of the mentioned parties.

BioPharma Global is a mission-driven corporation, operating like a not-for-profit, dedicated to using our FDA and EMA regulatory expertise and knowledge of various therapeutic areas to help drug developers advance treatments for the disease communities with a high unmet medical need. If you are a drug developer seeking regulatory support for Orphan Drug designation, Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, other FDA/EMA expedited programs, type A, B (pre-IND, EOPs), or C meeting assistance, or IND filings, the BioPharma Global team can help. Contact us today to arrange a 30-minute introductory call.

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10-28-2021

Novartis receives priority review by US FDA and filing acceptance by EMA for Kymriah® to treat patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma

Novartis today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have accepted the company’s Supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) and Type II Variation, respectively, for Kymriah® (tisagenlecleucel) in adult patients with relapsed or refractory (r/r) follicular lymphoma (FL) after two prior lines of treatment. The FDA has also granted priority review to the company’s sBLA for Kymriah in adult patients with r/r FL. Kymriah was previously granted orphan medicinal product designation by the European Commission (EC) for FL. If approved in this potential third indication, Kymriah would have the opportunity to present an important treatment option for those patients with r/r FL in need of potentially definitive outcomes.

The regulatory submissions are based on positive data from the pivotal Phase II ELARA trial, which investigated the efficacy and safety of Kymriah in adult patients with r/r FL. The trial met the primary endpoint with robust responses observed in heavily pretreated patients. The safety profile was remarkable, with no patients experiencing grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome (CRS) related to Kymriah within the first 8 weeks following infusion1. Data from the trial was presented earlier this year as an oral presentation during the 2021 Annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Virtual Scientific Meeting.

“This is an important milestone in our mission to bring Kymriah to adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma. Receiving orphan drug designation from the EC as well as priority review from the FDA underscores the unmet need and urgency for these patients. With Kymriah demonstrating impressive results in the ELARA trial, we are hopeful that we can offer a unique and potentially definitive treatment that minimizes the burden,” said Jeff Legos, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Oncology & Hematology Development, Novartis.

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Disclaimer: BioPharma Global is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within the article. Content available through the site may contain links and information to other websites. Links from BioPharma Global to third-party sites do not constitute an endorsement by BioPharma Global of the mentioned parties.

BioPharma Global is a mission-driven corporation, operating like a not-for-profit, dedicated to using our FDA and EMA regulatory expertise and knowledge of various therapeutic areas to help drug developers advance treatments for the disease communities with a high unmet medical need. If you are a drug developer seeking regulatory support for Orphan Drug designation, Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, other FDA/EMA expedited programs, type A, B (pre-IND, EOPs), or C meeting assistance, or IND filings, the BioPharma Global team can help. Contact us today to arrange a 30-minute introductory call.

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10-27-2021

Ambulero’s Gene Therapy Candidate AMB-301 Granted US Orphan Drug Designation For Treatment of Severe Vascular Disease

Ambulero Inc., a biotechnology company (“Ambulero” or the “Company”) developing new cell and gene therapy treatments for patients suffering from severe vascular disease, today announced that the U.S. FDA’s Office For Orphan Products Development (OOPD) granted the company’s request for orphan drug status for its gene therapy candidate, AMB-301, to treat Buerger’s Disease (BD), also known as Thromboangiitis Obliterans (TAO).

AMB-301 is a first-in-class gene therapy vector encoding a cell adhesion molecule (E-selectin). Over a decade of research in animal models of vascular disease suggests that providing E-selectin to damaged blood vessels promotes therapeutic angiogenesis, robust tissue regeneration and improved limb function.

BD is a debilitating vascular disease that can lead to severe limb damage and amputation, often in relatively young patients. There are no effective treatments and existing therapies are largely ineffective. AMB-301 is a promising gene therapy candidate for enhancing blood vessel formation, restoring tissue integrity and eliminating the need for amputation as a treatment option.

The FDA’s orphan drug designation provides AMB-301 with seven (7) years of market exclusivity for the treatment of BD if approved. The FDA grants orphan designations to medical products showing promise to treat diseases that affect 200,000 or fewer Americans. The company is also eligible for certain tax credits and regulatory benefits with the FDA designation.

To Read the Complete Article at BioSpace Click Here

Disclaimer: BioPharma Global is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within the article. Content available through the site may contain links and information to other websites. Links from BioPharma Global to third-party sites do not constitute an endorsement by BioPharma Global of the mentioned parties.

BioPharma Global is a mission-driven corporation, operating like a not-for-profit, dedicated to using our FDA and EMA regulatory expertise and knowledge of various therapeutic areas to help drug developers advance treatments for the disease communities with a high unmet medical need. If you are a drug developer seeking regulatory support for Orphan Drug designation, Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, other FDA/EMA expedited programs, type A, B (pre-IND, EOPs), or C meeting assistance, or IND filings, the BioPharma Global team can help. Contact us today to arrange a 30-minute introductory call.

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10-26-2021

Repurposing Cancer Drugs To Treat Rare Diseases

By combining computational and experimental approaches, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Prairie View A&M University researchers identified cancer drugs that show promise for treating pulmonary hypertension, or PH, a rare and incurable lung disease.

Published today in Science Advances, the study used a new algorithm to identify candidate cancer drugs for PH. Two of these compounds improved markers of the disease in human cells and rodents. The findings support broader use of this drug-repurposing platform for other non-cancerous conditions that don’t yet have effective treatments.

“Repurposing drugs can cut down the time and cost of developing treatments for rare diseases, which historically don’t receive much investment into research and drug development,” said senior author Stephen Chan, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine and director of the Vascular Medicine Institute at Pitt and UPMC. “Pulmonary hypertension is an example of a rare disease where there is an unmet need for new treatments, given its devastating consequences. We developed this pipeline to rapidly predict which drugs are effective for PH and get these treatments to patients faster.”

Pulmonary hypertension is a type of high blood pressure that occurs in the vessels that transport blood from the heart to the lungs. As the disease progresses and the heart must strain harder against these high pressures, it can lead to heart failure, multi-organ dysfunction and death. PH affects people of all ages but hits young women more often than men.

To Read the Complete Article at TechnologyNetworks Click Here

Disclaimer: BioPharma Global is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within the article. Content available through the site may contain links and information to other websites. Links from BioPharma Global to third-party sites do not constitute an endorsement by BioPharma Global of the mentioned parties.

BioPharma Global is a mission-driven corporation, operating like a not-for-profit, dedicated to using our FDA and EMA regulatory expertise and knowledge of various therapeutic areas to help drug developers advance treatments for the disease communities with a high unmet medical need. If you are a drug developer seeking regulatory support for Orphan Drug designation, Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, other FDA/EMA expedited programs, type A, B (pre-IND, EOPs), or C meeting assistance, or IND filings, the BioPharma Global team can help. Contact us today to arrange a 30-minute introductory call.

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