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  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Portrazza (necitumumab) in combination with two forms of chemotherapy to treat patients with advanced (metastatic) squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have not previously received medication specifically for treating their advanced lung cancer. Portrazza is marketed by Eli Lilly and Company, based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration  approved Fluad, the first seasonal influenza vaccine containing an adjuvant. Fluad, a trivalent vaccine produced from three influenza virus strains (two subtype A and one type B), is approved for the prevention of seasonal influenza in people 65 years of age and older.

  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new indication for BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) to prevent disease following suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax disease. The vaccine’s new use is approved for people 18 through 65 years of age in conjunction with recommended antibiotic treatment. BioThrax was initially approved by the FDA in 1970 for the prevention of anthrax disease in persons at high risk of exposure.

  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan nasal spray, the first FDA-approved nasal spray version of naloxone hydrochloride, a life-saving medication that can stop or reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Opioids are a class of drugs that include prescription medications such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine, as well as the illegal drug heroin.

  • TESARO, Inc., an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company, announced that VARUBI™ (rolapitant), an NK-1 receptor antagonist, is now available in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved VARUBI on Sept. 1, 2015, for use in combination with other antiemetic agents in adults for the prevention of delayed nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of emetogenic cancer chemotherapy, including, but not limited to, highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

  • Meridian Bioscience, Inc. announced it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for new claims for its illumigene® Pertussis molecular amplification test. The upgraded test reduces the effect of inhibitors in biologic samples and significantly expands Meridian’s customer base by including specimens collected by ESwab™ (Copan Diagnostics, Inc.).
    ESwab is a multipurpose universal transport system that a significant portion of laboratories in the United States currently use to streamline workflows and eliminate costs associated with stocking multiple swab types.

  • Sandoz, a Novartis company and the global leader in biosimilars, announced  that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its Biologics License Application (BLA) under the 351 (k) pathway for its proposed biosimilar to Amgen's US-licensed Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim) - a recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF).

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