Everyone knew this day would come and it has been a long time in coming. Yesterday, the FDA approved the first interchangeable biosimilar for an insulin product. An interchangeable biosimilar, like an AB-rated generic product, can be substituted at the pharmacy without intervention of the healthcare provider. According to the FDA announcement, “Semglee (insulin glargine-yfgn) […]
As we have seen in the news lately, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is spinning out new variants as it replicates in infected individuals. Some of these new variants have been found to be more infectious (and possibly more pathogenic) than the initial virus that first entered the human population. The good news is that the FDA […]
Today, December 17, 2020, the Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting discussed the Moderna vaccine. That vaccine is an mRNA vaccine, much the same as the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine. To remind you, the mRNA vaccine: Does not replicate Does not enter or integrate into DNA And the Moderna vaccine does not contain any preservatives […]
Today was the FDA vaccine advisory committee meeting to provide feedback to the FDA regarding the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine. I don’t think anyone will be surprised by the outcome, especially since the pre-meeting package written by the FDA was extremely favorable regarding the safety profile and the very high efficacy rates seen in the study. […]
Based on the FDA advanced posting of material regarding the advisory committee meeting tomorrow to consider an EUA for the Pfizer vaccine, it appears that there should be clear sailing. From the materials that I was able to review, there were very few serious adverse reactions, 95% efficacy rate, and low episodes of severe disease […]
I read an Axios report this morning (here) written by Jonathan Swan, indicating that FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn has been summoned to the West Wing by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to explain “why he hasn’t moved faster to approve the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine“. This type of pressure has no place in science. […]
Two prominent senators recently sent a letter to the Commissioner of the FDA on November 10, 2020, requesting him to provide certain information regarding the current state of conducting international inspections. Many of those within and supportive of the pharmaceutical industry applaud the efforts of these senators in shining a light on some elements associated […]
Well, here we are, at the end of the conference already. Let us look at highlights of the Day 3 activities. Dr. Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, gave the opening keynote address and, in usual fashion, he thanked the generics and biosimilar industries for making high-quality generic drugs and biosimilars available to […]
The history of the issue of the ”intended use” regulations goes back to 2015, as explained in this 39-page pre-publication version of the Federal Register Notice (here), and it is quite an interesting read. The main issue surrounds the notion that, if a firm knows its product is being used for a use not in […]
The news is rife with stories about counterfeit drugs, illegal operating on-line pharmacies, on-line pharmacies dispensing sub- or super-potent medicines, some act as virtual opioid pill mills, but the FDA has launched a campaign to help consumers navigate the online pharmacy morass. Released this morning the FDA’s web page (here) asks in its opening line […]