UNIMED's MARINOL NDA WILL BE RESUBMITTED

UNIMED's MARINOL NDA WILL BE RESUBMITTED after the company meets with FDA to discuss the agency's withdrawal of an "approvable letter" for the drug, the company announced in a Nov. 7 press release. Unimed President and CEO Paul Bollenbacher said that the company plans "to move quickly to resubmit the application and satisfy all of their [FDA's] requirements." The company said FDA withdrew the July 31 "approvable letter" for Marinol (dronabinol-THC) because "of certain deficiencies related to two clinical tests which were viewed as pivotol to the agency's ability to judge Marinol as safe and effective." Bollenbacher commented that he was "absolutely dumbfounded by the FDA's decision, since the company has submitted additional data, including labeling information, to the FDA in August." Unimed filed an NDA for Marinol in June 1981. The drug, used to control vomiting and nausea associated with chemotherapy, has been distributed by the Natl. Cancer Institute (NCI) for the last four years. Approximately 800 hospitals, 2,600 doctors, and 25,000 cancer patients have participated in NCI's free THC distribution program, Unimed stated. Unimed has at least two other drugs in clinicals, an anticancer agent Spiro-32 spiro-germanium), and Serc (betahistamine HCI) for the treatment of cerebrovascular disease. The company said it has not been pursuing studies of its L-alpha-acetyl-methadol, a long-acting drug for use in controlled withdrawal from morphine-type addiction, "because of some problems with safety raised by FDA."

More from Archive

Ocaliva: Still No Clarity On Why EU Court Opposed Revocation Of Approval

 

Advanz Pharma would have had to show that the European Commission’s decision to revoke Ocaliva’s conditional marketing approval risked causing serious and irreparable harm, according to lawyers from Van Bael & Bellis.

Final Chance To Have Your Say: Take Our Reader Survey This Week

 
• By 

This is your final call to participate in the survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. The deadline is 20 September.

Shape Our Content: Take The Reader Survey

 
• By 

We are conducting a survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. If there are any changes you’d like to see in coverage topics, article format, or the method in which you access the Pink Sheet – or if you love it how it is – now is the time to have your voice heard.

Brazil Pilots Digital Drug Pack Inserts

 

A new pilot aims to take Brazil closer to ‘digital transformation.’

More from Pink Sheet

AI And Inertia: The Disruptors Keeping EU Regulators Awake At Night

 

Data is “the new oil,” but its use will challenge regulators, while inertia is the biggest disrupter of all for European regulators, according to European Medicines Agency chiefs past and present.

AI In Manufacturing: EU To Revamp GMP Guidance In Light Of Digital Advancements

 

Pharma firms are being encouraged to respond to a European Commission consultation on planned updates to its good manufacturing practice standards which reflect the “rapid advancement” of modern technologies, like AI and digital systems, in drug manufacturing.

China Unveils Multiple Policies To Support Innovative Drugs Throughout Life Cycle

 
• By 

China has announced a raft of new measures to encourage innovative drug development across the product life cycle, including using insurance data to differentiate new therapies and applying commercial insurance to selected novel products.