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Weighty Issues: GW Obesity Drug Outcomes Project Tests a Model for Patient Input in Drug Development

 
• By Michael McCaughan

A stakeholder project on obesity treatment outcomes will complete its work this summer, setting the stage for FDA to rethink efficacy endpoints for weight loss drug development. The closed-door project is happening in parallel with public advisory committee discussions on pending applications and safety standards. One impact will be to shape more formal patient-centered drug development activities in years to come.

It is going to be an important summer for defining the regulatory climate for weight loss drugs.

FDA has two pending applications to decide on—Vivus Inc.’s Qnexa and Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Lorqess—and, with a 20-2 recommendation in favor of approval by the Endocrinologic & Metabolic...

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More from Approval Standards

US FDA Cell-Gene Therapy Head Says Agency Has Revived Stalled Programs

 
• By Sarah Karlin-Smith

CBER's Nicole Verdun wants rare disease sponsors with stalled treatments to circle back because the FDA's evolved thinking on clinical trial designs may offer another opportunity for cast away products.

EMA Official Clarifies Benefits And Limitations Of Innovation Pathways

 
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A European Medicines Agency official provided an overview and update of the support the EMA offers developers of innovative products and discussed, among other things, its Innovation Task Force, Quality Innovation Group and a scientific advice pilot for clinical trials.

New EU Approvals

 
• By Neena Brizmohun

The Pink Sheet's list of EU centralized approvals of new active substances has been updated to include two new products, one of which is Vyjuvek, Krystal Biotech's advanced therapy for treating dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.

EMA: ‘Sad To See’ Member States Against Patient Engagement Under EU Pharma Reform

 
• By Eliza Slawther

The European Medicines Agency’s chief medical officer Steffen Thistrup argued that patients are able to understand the “complex regulatory and scientific issues” that the EMA committees discuss when they assess drugs.

More from Pathways & Standards

Drug, Biologic Policy Staff Return To US FDA, As RIF Process Hangs In Legal Limbo

 
• By Sarah Karlin-Smith

The FDA employees with reduction-in-force notice rescissions include some who work on user fee negotiations, but staff still subject to RIFs will not officially separate from the agency this week due to ongoing legal challenges.

US FDA’s Prasad: ‘We Will Always Embrace Surrogate Endpoints’

 
• By Sarah Karlin-Smith

The new CBER director, once best known in the pharma world for criticizing accelerated approval, committed to expediting cancer drugs with surrogate endpoints.

What Information Does US FDA Need For Stealth’s Elamipretide After CRL?

 
• By Sue Sutter

The agency said it will consider knee extensor muscle strength as a potential intermediate clinical endpoint to support accelerated approval, but Stealth CEO Reenie McCarthy said announcing it via complete response letter is confusing and inefficient.