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REMS Strength Driven More By Drug’s Benefits Than Risks, FDA Suggests

 
• By Martin Berman-Gorvine

FDA is unwilling to subject organ transplant patients to the delays caused by requiring prescriber and pharmacy certification, and so the REMS requirements for mycophenolate products are less strict than for other, less critical teratogenic drugs.

A new Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for mycophenolate drugs such as Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.’s Myfortic (mycophenoic acid) and mycophenolate mofetil (Genentech Inc.’s CellCept and generics) due to the risk of birth defects is milder than the REMS for two other teratogens due to the critical nature of the indication – prevention of organ transplant rejection.

FDA does not want a delay in administering the drugs, such as might be caused if the mycophenolate REMS included...

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More from United States

Access Risks Loom For All Drugmakers With Fourth Circuit Mifepristone Decision

 
• By Sarah Karlin-Smith

The FDA law establishing REMS authority does not preempt a West Virginia law that would restrict mifepristone use in the state, an appeals court said, a decision that could have broader ramifications for the agency’s authority to ensure drug access.

US Return Of GSK’s Blenrep Threatened By Ocular Toxicity, Dosage Optimization Questions

 
• By Sue Sutter

The FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee will consider whether appropriate dosages of belantamab mafodotin have been identified for two second-line, multiple myeloma indications. Ocular toxicities and large number of dose modifications in trials raised FDA concerns about benefit-risk.

US FDA’s Drugs Center Lost Hundreds Of Staff Through June With 600 RIFs Coming

 
• By Derrick Gingery, Sue Sutter, and Sarah Karlin-Smith

The official separation of those impacted by the reduction-in-force and some others who are leaving the agency are not yet reflected in CDER employee gains and losses data.

Animal Testing Alternatives: US Pharmacopeia On Its Testing Transition

 
• By Eliza Slawther

In this second of a two-part series of articles, US Pharmacopeia CEO Ronald T. Piervincenzi tells the Pink Sheet which animal testing models have alternative options and highlights where further investment and research is needed to develop appropriate alternatives.

More from North America

Consumer Groups Have A ‘Radical Transparency’ List For US FDA’s PDUFA VIII

 
• By Sarah Karlin-Smith

Development of the user fee commitment letter largely takes place behind closed doors between industry and FDA. Outside groups see the upcoming negotiation cycle as a chance to change this and other agency information blocks by reminding Commissioner Makary of his commitment to transparency.

Senate Bill Would Boost Oversight Of US FDA User Fee Program Following Trump Reorganization

 
• By Sarah Karlin-Smith

Senate appropriators also put FDA on notice regarding recent meetings and compliance with the Federal Advisory Committees Act, signal positive news on rare pediatric diseases, and offer hints of other agency areas they have close eyes on.

‘Seize the Moment:’ European Drug Regulators Called To Act On Changes In US

 
• By Francesca Bruce

European regulators must work hard to maintain and build vital but fragile trust in science and processes, said speakers at an event celebrating the European Medicines Agency 30th anniversary.