USFDA

AbbVie announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved HUMIRA® (adalimumab) for the treatment of non-infectious intermediate, posterior and panuveitis. HUMIRA is now the first and only FDA-approved non-corticosteroid therapy available for adults with non-infectious intermediate, posterior and panuveitis. This approval marks the 10th approved indication for HUMIRA in the United States for immune-mediated diseases.

AbbVie , a global biopharmaceutical company, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted a fourth Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) for ibrutinib (IMBRUVICA®) as a potential treatment of chronic graft-versus-host-disease (cGVHD) after failure of one or more lines of systemic therapy.

Lipocine Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that it has received a Complete Response Letter ("CRL") from the United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") regarding its New Drug Application ("NDA") for LPCN 1021, an oral testosterone product candidate for testosterone replacement therapy ("TRT") in adult males for conditions associated with a deficiency or absence of endogenous testosterone, also known as hypogonadism.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Epclusa® (sofosbuvir 400 mg/velpatasvir 100 mg), the first all-oral, pan-genotypic, single tablet regimen for the treatment of adults with genotype 1-6 chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Epclusa is also the first single tablet regimen approved for the treatment of patients with HCV genotype 2 and 3, without the need for ribavirin. Epclusa for 12 weeks was approved in patients without cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis (Child-Pugh A), and in combination with ribavirin (RBV) for patients with decompensated cirrhosis (Child-Pugh B or C).

Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. announced KRN23, an investigational recombinant fully human monoclonal IgG1 antibody against the phosphaturic hormone fibroblast growth factor 23(FGF23), has received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) in pediatric patients one year of age and older. Kyowa Hakko Kirin and Ultragenyx entered into a collaboration and license agreement in August 2013 to develop and commercialize KRN23.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Opdivo for the potential indication of unresectable locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma that has progressed on or after a platinum-containing regimen. As part of the Breakthrough Therapy Designation submission, the Company shared for the FDA’s review results from Phase 2 study CA209-275 and other supportive data investigating Opdivo in these previously treated bladder cancer patients.

Angiochem, a biotechnology company developing proprietary peptide-drug conjugates uniquely capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, announced the successful completion of an End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ANG1005. As a result, the company is in final preparation stages to commence its Phase 3 trial to support a New Drug Application (NDA) for ANG1005 in patients with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LC) from breast cancer.

Incyte Corporation announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for ruxolitinib (Jakafi®) for the treatment of patients with acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). There are currently no approved treatments for patients with acute GVHD.

Perrigo Company plc announced it has received final U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for three milk-based, store brand non-GMO infant formulas.  Shipments to retail customers have already commenced.

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. announced that its lead candidate WVE-120101, which is being investigated for the treatment of Huntington’s disease (HD), has received Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). WVE-120101 targets rs362307, a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) that is associated with the disease-causing mutation in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. WAVE’s approach enables selective silencing of the disease-causing HTT allele, while leaving the healthy HTT allele to produce normally functioning protein.