Cerus Corporation (NSDQ:CERS) said today that it exercised $10.8 million in additional options from its contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority, a part of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. The funds will go towards in vitro pathogen inactivation and red blood cell […]
Regulatory/Compliance
Amgen wins recommendation for single injection Repatha device
Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) said today that the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use issued a positive opinion for its Repatha single monthly injection device. The device is already cleared in Europe for dosing every 2 weeks. The hands-free device, with prefilled cartridges, delivers 420 milligrams of Repatha (evolocumab) in a single injection. […]
Japan approves Novocure’s Optune brain cancer treatment
Novocure (NSDQ:NVCR) said today that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has approved its tumor treating fields delivery system, Optune, for adult patients with supra-tentorial glioblastoma following surgery and radiation therapy. The St. Helier, N.J.-based company is expected to submit an application for public reimbursement of the device in Japan for newly diagnosed […]
ClearLine wins CE Mark for intravenous line device
ClearLine MD said today that it won CE Mark approval for its ClearLine IV product line that prevents air from being introduced into intravenous lines. During IV infusion, ClearLine’s device detects air in the IV line using ultrasound and then removes the air to allow the fluid to flow continuously. Air embolisms can cause long-term clinical […]
Galderma wins FDA nod for dermal fillers
Galderma said today that it won FDA approval for 2 of its products to treat nasolabial folds, or “laugh lines”. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company’s Restylane Refyne and Restylane Defyne are made with XpresHAn technology to manufacture injectable gels with customized hyaluronic acid crosslinking in each product. The federal watchdog’s approval was based on 2 […]
FDA approves first bioresorbable scaffold with autologous cells for cartilage repair
Vericel Corp (NSDQ:VCEL) shares soared 56% today after the Cambridge, Mass.-based company said the FDA approved its bioresorbable scaffold for cartilage repair. The product, Maci, is the 1st FDA-approved implant to use healthy cartilage tissue from a patient’s own knee to grow cells on the scaffold. “Different cartilage defects require different treatments, so therapy must be […]
AcelRx seeks FDA nod for non-invasive sufentanil painkiller
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:ACRX) said today that it submitted a new drug application to the FDA for its ARX-04 sublingual sufentanil tablet. The non-invasive compound has been studied as a treatment for patients experiencing moderate or severe acute pain and is administered in a medically supervised setting using a disposable, pre-filled, single-dose applicator. The Redwood City, Calif.-based […]
Pediapharm wins Health Canada nod for antibiotic, steroid combo ear drop
Pediapharm Inc. (CVE:PDP) said today that it won regulatory approval from Health Canada for its Otixal eye drop solution for the treatment of acute otitis media with tympanostomy tubes in pediatric patients. The Quebec-based company touts Otixal as the 1st antibiotic and steroid combination ear drop available in single, sterile unit-dose packaging. Otitis media, or […]
Flexion seeks FDA nod for osteoarthritis steroid injection
Flexion Therapeutics (NSDQ:FLXN) said today that it submitted a new drug application to the FDA for its extended-release steroid injection Zilretta. The Burlington, Mass.-based company won Fast Track status from the watchdog for its osteoarthritis injection last year. The new drug application is based on data from a pivotal phase III clinical trial evaluating Zilretta in […]
UK slaps Pfizer with record $107m fine over price hikes
The U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority reportedly fined Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Flynn Pharma a record amount for the companies’ massive price hikes to their unbranded versions of anti-epilepsy drug Epanutin. The British anti-trust watchdog fined Pfizer and Flynn Pharma $107 million (£84.2 million) and $6.5 million (£5.2 million), respectively. New York City-based Pfizer used to market the phenytoin sodium anti-epilepsy […]
