BioLife Solutions, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of proprietary clinical grade cell and tissue hypothermic storage and cryopreservation freeze media and a related cloud hosted biologistics cold chain management app for smart shippers, announced that it has entered into a ten-year supply agreement with Kite Pharma, a leading developer of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T cell receptor (TCR) products for various cancers.
Amgen announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Repatha® (evolocumab) Pushtronex™ system (on-body infusor with prefilled cartridge), a new, monthly single-dose administration option. The Pushtronex system is a hands-free device designed to provide 420 mg of Repatha in a single dose. Repatha is a human monoclonal antibody that blocks a protein called proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), which inhibits the body's natural system for eliminating "bad" cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or LDL-C) from the blood. Repatha is the first and only PCSK9 inhibitor to offer a monthly single-dose delivery option.
Teligent, Inc. , announced that it has received approvals of the Company's abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for both Triamcinolone Acetonide Lotion USP, 0.1% and Triamcinolone Acetonide Lotion USP, 0.025%. The FDA has now approved seven ANDAs from the Company's internally developed pipeline of topical generic pharmaceutical products.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Differin Gel 0.1% (adapalene), a once-daily topical gel for the over-the-counter (OTC) treatment of acne. Differin Gel 0.1% is approved for use in people 12 years of age and older. Differin Gel 0.1% is distributed by Galderma Laboratories, L.P., based in Fort Worth, Texas.
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted seribantumab, also known as MM-121, Fast Track designation for development in patients with heregulin-positive, locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has progressed following immunotherapy.
Merrimack is conducting the SHERLOC trial, a global clinical study of seribantumab in combination with docetaxel or pemetrexed in heregulin-positive patients with NSCLC that is designed to support a Biologics License Application to the FDA. Seribantumab is Merrimack's wholly owned, fully human monoclonal antibody that targets ErbB3.
"We are pleased that the FDA recognizes the importance of investigating a novel, biomarker-directed agent such as seribantumab for patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC who have been previously treated with an immunotherapy," said Dr. Akos Czibere, Vice President, Clinical Development at Merrimack. "Heregulin-positive cancer cells are characterized by their ability to escape the effects of a broad range of cancer therapies and potentially contribute to accelerated disease progression. The SHERLOC trial is designed to advance the development of a much-needed treatment option for patients with heregulin-positive NSCLC after they progress on immunotherapies. This is important because we find that more than 50% of patients with NSCLC are heregulin-positive."
Seribantumab is designed to block heregulin-driven signaling and enhance the anti-tumor effect of the chemotherapy. Data from Merrimack's prior clinical studies have shown that standard-of-care therapy may be more effective and result in improved patient outcomes when combined with seribantumab. Merrimack is investigating the efficacy and safety of seribantumab plus standard-of-care therapy in the SHERLOC trial.
The SHERLOC trial is a randomized, open-label, multi-center, Phase 2 study in patients with heregulin-positive, locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC. Merrimack expects to enroll approximately 280 heregulin-positive patients who will be randomized (2:1) to receive seribantumab in combination with either docetaxel or pemetrexed versus docetaxel or pemetrexed alone. The study's primary endpoint is overall survival with secondary endpoints including progression free survival, objective response rate, safety and quality of life measures. The study is designed to support a Biologics License Application to the FDA with data expected in 2018.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Roche cobas HPV Test as the first test for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) that can be used with cervical cells obtained for a Pap test and collected in SurePath Preservative Fluid.
Revive Therapeutics Ltd announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("US FDA") has accepted the Company's Investigational New Drug Application ("IND") for a Phase 2 clinical study in the U.S. of Bucillamine for the treatment of cystinuria.
"I am very pleased to have received FDA acceptance of Revive's second IND to support the clinical evaluation of Bucillamine as a potential new treatment for cystinuria," said Fabio Chianelli, President of Revive. "This marks another significant milestone for Revive and we look forward to initiating this Phase 2 study shortly."
Cystinuria is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder that causes high levels of cystine in the urine thus causing kidney stones to form. The resulting kidney stones are often large and recurrent and lead to significant morbidity and sometimes loss of kidney function. There are approximately between 10,000 and 12,000 patients affected with cystinuria in the U.S. The worldwide prevalence is about 1 in 7,000.
Current drugs approved by the US FDA for the treatment of cystinuria include Cuprimine® (D-penicillamine), which is a registered trademark of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. and Thiola® (Tiopronin), which is marketed by Retrophin, Inc. Both patent protection and the seven-year period of marketing exclusivity from the orphan drug designation for Cuprimine® and Thiola® have expired. Since the approval of Thiola® in 1988, there have been no significant improvements in the treatment of cystinuria. Revive is repurposing Bucillamine as a potential new treatment in cystinuria.
Bucillamine is an oral small molecule drug prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis in Japan and South Korea for nearly 30 years. Bucillamine has a chemical structure similar to Thiola®, but has two active thiol groups versus only one for Thiola®. The Company received US FDA orphan designation status for the use of Bucillamine for the treatment of cystinuria.
ObsEva, a Swiss biopharmaceutical company innovating women’s reproductive health and pregnancy therapeutics, announced that its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for OBE2109 has been cleared and the company is authorized to begin enrolling patients in the Phase 2b clinical study (EDELWEISS) with OBE2109 for the treatment of endometriosis.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the Abbott's Absorb bioresorbable heart stent, making the first-of-its-kind medical device commercially available to treat people with coronary artery disease in the United States.
Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to FPA144 for the treatment of gastric cancer, including cancer of the gastroesophageal junction in patients whose tumors overexpress FGFR2b. FPA144 is an anti-FGF receptor 2b (FGFR2b) humanized monoclonal antibody in clinical development as a targeted immune therapy.
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