Exondys Approval: FDA Commissioner's Draft Decision Drew Internal Rebuke

Even at the final step, FDA’s review of Sarepta's Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug remained collaborative and contentious, as Commissioner Califf's view that accelerated approval would not set a new precedent drew pushback from ODE I Director Unger, while Acting Chief Scientist Borio said the draft decision downplayed the 'miniscule' amount of dystrophin with eteplirsen.

FDA entrance sign 2016

FDA officials involved in the dispute over whether to approve Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.'s Exondys 51 (eteplirsen) did not hold back their criticisms when FDA Commissioner Robert Califf circulated his draft decision supporting accelerated approval for the Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug.

Office of Drug Evaluation I Director Ellis Unger questioned Califf's conclusion that Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Director Janet Woodcock had considered all relevant scientific evidence in deciding to...

Read the full article – start your free trial today!

Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on Pink Sheet for daily insights

  • Start your 7-day free trial
  • Explore trusted news, analysis, and insights
  • Access comprehensive global coverage
  • Enjoy instant access – no credit card required

More from Product Reviews

US FDA’s June Approval Forecast: Infection Prevention, Cancer And HAE

 

Upcoming FDA user fee goal dates include novel products from a busy lung cancer pipeline, a single-dose passive immunization against RSV for infants, what could be the first oral HAE acute treatment, and a first-in-class HAE preventive antibody.

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

 
• By 

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.

EMA Touts Faster Global Post-Approval Changes Via Regulatory Reliance

 

The European Medicines Agency says that a regulatory reliance pilot that it is supporting to speed up assessments of post-approval changes appears to be accelerating evaluation timelines in non-EU countries.

New EU Approvals

 

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.

More from Pink Sheet

Prasad Says Involvement In US FDA Product Approvals Will Mirror Prior CBER Directors

 

The remarks from the new CBER director suggest Prasad will not be involved in most product-specific decisions.

Scientists Work With AI To Uncover ‘Unexpected’ Drug Combos For Breast Cancer

 

A UK research team has used artificial intelligence to find new treatments for cancer using existing US Food and Drug Administration-approved medicines that are not normally not used for the disease.

Saving Part D: US Medicare Advisors Sound The Alarm

 

The US Medicare Payment Advisory Commission worries that Medicare prescription drug market trends may cause the stand-alone plan portion of the program to “wither away,” which could take the traditional fee-for-service side of Medicare with it.