Regulatory Authority Actions

The agency has released new guidance on the development of new medication-assisted treatments for opioid dependence.

FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research has published its second annual report on key safety programs and activities.

The new document answers questions regarding implementation of the ICH Q7 guidance on GMPs for APIs.

The agency has granted breakthrough therapy designation to Roche’s hemophilia therapy for treating hemophilia A in patients without factor VIII inhibitors.

A new report gives an overview of the work of the International API Inspection Program.

FDA sent a warning letter to Tris Pharma Inc. after investigators found the company had failed to properly investigate batch failures and establish quality control procedures.

The agency has assigned new EU member state rapporteurs and co-rapporteurs to medicines previously assigned to the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Celltrion received complete response letters from FDA for its rituximab and trastuzumab biosimilars.

The European Pharmacopoeia Commission added 19 new monographs and three new chapters and revised 51 monographs and 15 chapters.

The European approval marks the first approval for a biosimilar in that region resulting from the companies’ joint portfolio.

The agency’s plan outlines its approach to implementing medical product programs and the use of financial resources.

The agency has release a report providing an overview of steps taken to enhance benefit-risk assessment in the review of drugs.

The agency has accepted AstraZeneca’s biologics license application for an investigational leukemia drug candidate and granted it priority review.

More diversified therapies and tighter payer budgets will challenge bio/pharma companies to think outside the industry.

Congress passed a $1.3-trillion omnibus budget bill March 22, 2018 that increases federal support for biomedical research and health programs for fiscal year 2018.

EMA has recommended approval of the biosimilar for the same indications as Roche’s Herceptin (trastuzumab).

Novartis’ Sandoz is seeking approval of its biosimilar referencing Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade (infliximab) for all of Remicade’s indications across gastroenterology, rheumatology, and dermatology.

The agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended six drugs for approval at its March 2018 meeting.

The draft guidance addresses the agency’s policy on evaluating bulk drug substances in drug compounding.

The agency’s Clinical Data Summary Pilot program will post redacted Clinical Study Reports in order to help stakeholders understand why FDA approved a new drug application.

The agency sent a warning letter to Malladi Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited after an inspection found CGMP violations that included the presence of vermin.

The agency published two new guidance documents detailing postmarketing safety reporting requirements for combination products.

The European Medicines Agency has published a new tool that gives a transparent overview of the agency’s relocation to Amsterdam.

The agency announced proposed research studies on how healthcare providers and patients understand drug promotional materials.

Revisions to chapters on glass containers and elastomeric closures were canceled following review of comments.