Quality/GMPs

Dr. Robert Califf is appointed FDA Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco.

The agency creates an electronic central repository to facilitate drug safety assessment reports.

FDA guidance discusses factors to consider in evaluation of photosafety and describes nonclinical photosafety tests.

New drugs submitted for approval in Europe have 18 months to comply with new elemental impurities guidelines.

FDA’s Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee will meet in February to discuss the list of bulk drug substances that may or may not be compounded.

The European Medicines Agency has published a guide to help industry and regulatory authorities implement safety-monitoring standards.

Cosentyx (secukinumab) is the first IL-17A inhibitor for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis patients.

Catalent announced that it would partner with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, and its subsidiary MGC Pharma, to promote GPEx technology, a high-titer vector for stable mammalian cell lines.

FDA aims is to collect data regularly from manufacturers that will indicate the ability of a firm and its facilities to produce high-quality therapies on a continual, error-free basis.

The European Medicines Agency plans on sharing generic-drug assessment reports with regulators outside the European Union.

USP establishes Jan. 1, 2018 as the implementation date for its elemental impurities guidelines for existing drugs.

Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that it stopped its study of Opdivo for the treatment of 2nd line squamous cell lung cancer due to superior overall survival of study participants.

A guidance document published just before the Jan. 1, 2015 deadline adds a four-month grace period.

An FDA panel unanimously recommended the agency approve EP2006, Sandoz’s biosimilar for filgrastim.

The FDA center released a list of the guidance documents it plans to publish in 2015.

The European Commission’s new structure has sparked controversy about its allocation of responsibilities and the impact on the development and approval of new medicines.

Switching grades of raw material late in the development cycle can be costly. Best practice says get it right at the beginning.

Manufacturers are under pressure to develop pipelines, promote quality, and justify pricing.

In late 2014, standards organizations continued to work towards harmonization and securing drug safety.

Hospira issued a voluntary worldwide recall due to confirmed subpotency and elevated impurity levels.

When used in combination with chlorambucil to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Gazyva was found to be more effective than Rituxan.

Entrectinib has received FDA’s orphan drug and rare pediatric disease designations for the treatment of neuroblastoma.

Teva Pharmaceuticals announced that FDA approved Granix injection for self-administration in patients.

Approval of anti-PD-1 antibody Opdivo represents a major milestone for patients who no longer respond to existing treatments for melanoma.

FDA set several milestones in approving more new, important drugs and biologics in 2014. Breakthrough drug designations went through through the roof, speeding more new therapies for cancer and critical conditions to patients.