1. Pink Sheet
  2. >>Pathways & Standards
  3. >>Review Pathways

Effectiveness Or Bust: Without Benefit, No Case For Keeping Makena On The Market, CDER Says

 
• By Sue Sutter

FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research officials say accelerated approval of Covis’ preterm birth prevention drug should be withdrawn because substantial evidence of effectiveness no longer exists – separate from any concerns about study feasibility, off-label use or compounding.

Makena hearing and driving risks
FDA's Christine Nguyen aimed to center efficacy in the discussion by noting that everything involves risks, and people wouldn't drive cars unless it got them somewhere. • Source: Shutterstock

At the first day of the Makena public hearing on 17 October, the US FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research sought to focus attention on the key reason for its proposal to withdraw Covis Pharma’s preterm birth prevention drug – a lack of substantial evidence of effectiveness – without getting bogged down in ancillary issues such as study feasibility, off-label prescribing and compounding.

By placing effectiveness at the heart of their argument for withdrawal, CDER officials suggested that no case can be

More from Review Pathways

US HHS Deputy Nominee Talks AI, Not FDA, In Confirmation Hearing

 
• By Ramsey Baghdadi

Silicon Valley investor Jim O’Neill’s Senate confirmation hearings showcased the unique background of someone with government and tech experience and avoided discussions of his past statements about lowering the bar for regulatory approval.

What MAHA Means For US FDA: Prevention Is Not What You Think

 
• By Michael McCaughan

US HHS Advisor Calley Means said new pathways for root-cause treatments are part of the HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vision for the FDA. But what most biopharma companies consider preventative medicines are not what he has in mind, nor does he seem to see those companies as part of the solution.

Pink Sheet Podcast: Vaccine Review Political Interference, Missed Deadlines A Harbinger Of US FDA Problems?

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

Pink Sheet reporter and editors discuss FDA Commissioner Martin Makary’s decision to have one of his assistants lead negotiations for Novavax’s delayed COVID-19 vaccine review, as well as some recent missed review deadlines, which may be the result of recent FDA cuts.

US FDA Not Industry’s ‘Sock Puppet,’ Ultragenyx’s Emil Kakkis Says

 
• By Sue Sutter

The biotech CEO said the Trump Administration’s treatment of FDA employees, including the HHS secretary’s comments about industry capture, are insulting to agency staff, but he is encouraged by FDA Commissioner Martin Makary’s talk of a new conditional approval pathway.

More from Pathways & Standards

Pink Sheet Podcast: A New Director For US FDA’s Biologics Center, Guidance Production Slowdowns

 
• By Derrick Gingery, Sue Sutter, and Nielsen Hobbs

Pink Sheet editors discuss the appointment of Vinay Prasad as the new director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and revelations that FDA layoffs now are hindering development of guidance documents.

US FDA Advisory Committee Misperceptions Abound … At HHS

 
• By Michael McCaughan

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regularly decries the “conflicts of interest” he believes abound in advisory committees, but his concerns, as well as a recent “policy directive” eliminating industry representatives, seem driven by a misunderstanding of the panels’ jobs.

US FDA’s Expanded Surprise Foreign Inspections: Impact And Enforcement Hoops

 
• By Anju Ghangurde

As the US FDA expands unannounced foreign inspections building on pilots in India and China, experts expect higher scrutiny of overseas sites and perhaps even an industry shakeout in the longer term, though staffing and enforcement challenges could slow things down.