US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf offered subtle hints at a recent National Institutes of Health meeting that the agency may eventually try to curtail long-term opioid use through drug labeling.
Califf Hints At Labeling Changes For Opioids And Chronic Pain
Califf also said the agency is open to endpoints other than abstinence for new opioid use disorder treatments at the fourth annual NIH HEAL Initiative Investigator Meeting.

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The chair of a European Medicines Agency working group on reducing animal testing said that companies can provide “thoughts and suggestions” in relation to a review of its scientific guidelines on regulatory testing requirements and new approach methodologies.
The former principal deputy commissioner said the “decapitation” of senior leadership will make resolving internal disputes more difficult, which will slow application reviews. Woodcock also called the FDA layoffs a slow-moving catastrophe.
A risk-based approach to human cell therapies and tissue-based products could incentivize development and prevent bad actors from taking advantage of the current FDA system.
US FDA Commissioner nominee Martin Makary is being embraced by industry, and Senate Democrats, as a more traditional pick than other Trump Administration nominees, but the Make America Healthy Again agenda still is clearly coming to the agency.
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The Brazilian medicines regulator will also offer more clarity on the requirements for radiopharmaceuticals that are exempt from registration.
Sanofi’s Dupixent, Amgen’s Uplizna, and Bristol’s Opdivo seek new indications, while J&J hopes to start a franchise with nipocalimab and Stealth’s day of reckoning approaches.
FDA staffing cuts are making negotiation preparations more difficult, but also could mean the result is a smaller user fee renewal package.