Each month, Camargo’s “In the News” series highlights important changes and advancements in the regulatory and development space and explores how those changes could impact your program. FDA Discusses Focus Areas for PDUFA VII During Public Meeting Following the August publication of the proposed PDUFA
The Camargo Blog has published a four-part blog series highlighting those designation programs available specifically for products with rare disease indications. This final installment will explain the criteria, timeline, and benefits of Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) designation. The HUD designation program is designed for medical
Advances in scientific knowledge and growth in the cell and gene therapy space have led to a new and exciting era of medicine for patients, as well as a new motivation for regulators to provide clear, efficient pathways for product developers. These therapies frequently target
In 2020, CDER approved 68 NDAs that used the 505(b)(2) pathway, representing important advances in patient care across a wide range of therapeutic areas. 505(b)(2) Drug Improvement Approvals by Year In spite of an unusual year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NDA approvals via the
Each month, Camargo’s “In the News” series highlights important changes and advancements in the regulatory and development space and explores how those changes could impact your program. Rare Disease Clinical Trials Most Often Terminated Due to Regulatory and Recruitment Issues The difficulty associated with successfully
The Camargo Blog is publishing a four-part blog series highlighting those designation programs available specifically for products with rare disease indications: Orphan Drug Designation (ODD), Rare Pediatric Disease Designation (RPDD), and Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) designation. The RPDD program was established with a similar rationale
Each month, Camargo’s “In the News” series highlights important changes and advancements in the regulatory and development space and explores how those changes could impact your program. FDA: Sponsors Seldom Disclose RTF Letters’ Existence or Contents and Often Ignore Agency Advice The FDA revealed that
The Camargo Blog is publishing a four-part blog series highlighting those designation programs available specifically for products with rare disease indications: Orphan Drug Designation (ODD), Rare Pediatric Disease Designation (RPDD), and Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) designation. Part 1 offered an overview and side-by-side comparison of
Each month, Camargo’s “In the News” series highlights important changes and advancements in the regulatory and development space and explores how those changes could impact your program. Approval of the Month: Previously Approved Oncology Drug Cleared for Rare Pediatric Indication Pfizer’s Xalkori (crizotinib) was approved
Comparing Orphan Drug, Rare Pediatric Disease, and Humanitarian Use Device Designations The US FDA offers sponsors a variety of special designation programs to incentivize them to develop and deliver therapies to treat unmet patient needs, such as Fast Track Designation (FTD), Breakthrough Therapy Designation, and
Each month, Camargo’s “In the News” series highlights important changes and advancements in the regulatory and development space and explores how those changes could impact your program. FDA Issues Advice on Combination Products In December, the FDA published “Requesting FDA Feedback on Combination Products” to
Each month, Camargo’s “In the News” series highlights important changes and advancements in the regulatory and development space and explores how those changes could impact your program. Remote Document Review Leads to CRL: Be Careful What You Wish for? The FDA’s halt of onsite inspections
As a sponsor designs clinical studies, the respective comparison control groups become a critical factor to consider. Often, to gain clinical trial design insights, a sponsor reviews the physician package inserts from approved New Drug Applications (NDAs) and Biologics License Applications (BLAs) with similar indications
Throughout the life-cycle of a drug development program, sponsors are confronted with a range of key questions. They must decide on the correct… Regulatory pathway, FDA center, Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), Target Product Profile (TPP) inclusions, Data to rely on, Studies to conduct, Indication and
Panel Summary from the World Orphan Drug Congress 2020 Last month, executives from leading international biopharma companies came together at the World Orphan Drug Congress 2020 to discuss how they are evaluating new opportunities in the rare disease space. The panel discussion was moderated by
A pharmaceutical company is granted orphan designation for a medicine that treats Hunter Syndrome. The company goes on to receive marketing approval for the medicine. The approved medicine is administered through intravenous infusion. This route of administration, while effective for some, does not address the
It has recently been reported that drugmakers have argued against broad orphan exclusivity for Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s Bendeka® product. This was in response to the FDA’s invitation to applicants of certain products containing bendamustine to share how broad of a scope they believe Eagle’s seven-year
2017 was a big year for orphan designations and approvals. Sixteen of the sixty-three (25%) products approved via the 505(b)(2) pathway in 2017 received orphan designation. Importantly, more than half of the approved 505(b)(2) products with orphan designation received seven years of orphan exclusivity. That’s
The Benefits of 505(b)(2) for Orphan Drug Development The Orphan Drug Designation Program, created by the Orphan Drug Act of 1983, provides significant financial incentives for the development of drugs for rare diseases. The potential incentives include tax credits for clinical trial costs, waiver of
A 505(b)(2) may rely on the FDA’s previous findings of safety and efficacy of an approved drug product. It is possible to rely on more than one approved drug product. It is also possible that a 505(b)(2) applicant does not have to rely on any approved
Orphan drugs, defined in the Orphan Drug Act as drugs developed to treat rare diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S., have begun to make their mark for patients and drug companies. As the number of orphan drugs has increased over the
Last week at the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) Annual Meeting, the 21st Century Cures Act, a proposed bill with bipartisan support, was a topic of discussion. Specifically, subtitle L—Dormant Therapies, which would offer 15 years of exclusivity for drugs and biologics approved as dormant therapies.
The FDA recently provided a summary of new drug approvals in 2014 pointing to an 18-year high. According to its website, the FDA approved 41 novel medicines in 2014, 14 more than in 2013. Nearly 40% of the new drugs approved in 2014 were for
2014 drug approvals seem to have rebounded somewhat from the past year. In his annual CDER New Drug Review Update, FDA’s John Jenkins cited 35 NME NDA and BLA approvals (calculated through December 3, 2014), up from 27 in 2013 (see chart below). These approvals
Until now, if a Sponsor intended to request orphan designation with 7 years of marketing exclusivity for a drug that has already been granted orphan designation, FDA has followed the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), including the condition described in 21CFR §316.34(c): “If a drug
Camargo is privileged to work with many clients to develop Orphan drugs. In order to obtain an Orphan drug approval the sponsor must first request that the drug and indication be granted orphan-drug designation. This process requires research into both the indication and the potential
Yesterday, Depomed filed suit against the FDA requesting the Court to order FDA to grant their product Gralise (gabapentin) 7 years of exclusivity since it was granted Orphan status; upon approval, Gralise was granted 3 years of exclusivity. Depomed licensed the product to Solvay which
As part of the PDUFA V reauthorization discussions, the FDA and industry are talking about better approaches to rare disease drug development and orphan drugs. Public interests and Congress have mandated that FDA develop new guidances on the required studies needed for NDA approval. In
Mobius Therapeutics announced that it has received orphan drug status for Mitosol to prevent the recurrence of pterygium after surgical excision. The active ingredient, mitomycin has been used without FDA approval for eye surgeries since the mid 1960’s. Due to its long history of use,
Delcath Systems Inc. announced that the FDA has granted an additional orphan designation for melphalan for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours metastatic to the liver. Delcath uses a proprietary system they call the Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion (PHP) System to deliver high doses of existing drugs
I attended a session at the 2008 BIO convention in San Diego celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Orphan Drug Act. Before the Act, there were almost no orphan drugs. The exemption from the PDUFA user fees (running $1.175MM today), 50% tax credit for clinical
Raptor Pharmaceuticals announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug designation for cysteamine bitartrate for the treatment of Huntington’s disease. Cysteamine is currently approved by the FDA and European Medicines Agency to treat nephropathic cystinosis*, also an orphan designation. In addition to the targeted orphan designation, it
A reader recently inquired about Orphan drugs and asked me if I thought an Orphan drug developed under 505(b)(2) could be approved based on just a Phase 1 study – a pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic comparison to the RLD. At first I thought I couldn’t think
I was recently asked how you can have a 505(b)(2) application for an Orphan drug. The reasoning behind the query was that Orphan drugs are new chemical entities (NCE). This perpetuates the misconception that 505(b)(2) cannot be used for NCEs, which by now readers of
IP attorney Stephen Albainy-Jenai and I just concluded a webinar hosted by DIA entitled 505(b)(2) Patent & Exclusivity. 23 different companies attended, showing the increasing interest in 505(b)(2) issues. Earlier this year, DIA hosted my overview of the 505(b)(2) drug development process where the attendees had many questions asking