The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of 127 innovator and biosimilar drugs in 2024, a notable decrease from the 149 approvals recorded in 2023. 17 July 2025
Swiss pharma giant Roche has won approval from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for its combination treatment of Columvi (glofitamab) alongside gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (GemOx) for adults with relapsed or refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant. 17 July 2025
Artificial intelligence has edged past the pilot phase in clinical development. Once a niche add-on, AI is now helping biopharma companies design, recruit, and run trials faster, cheaper, and—crucially—more inclusively. And regulators are starting to pay serious attention. 17 July 2025
UK pharma major GSK has gained US regulatory approval for a new prefilled syringe presentation of its shingles vaccine, Shingrix (zoster vaccine), a move aimed at streamlining administration and boosting immunization coverage. 17 July 2025
The Division of Hepatology and Nutrition of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has lifted the partial clinical hold on the completed PORTOLA Phase IIa clinical trial evaluating zetomipzomib, a first-in-class selective immunoproteasome inhibitor, in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), California, USA-based drug developer Kezar Life Sciences announced yesterday. 16 July 2025
Alnylam has secured expanded UK regulatory approval for Amvuttra (vutrisiran), broadening its indication to include treatment of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) in adults. 16 July 2025
The UK government’s new life sciences plan has been met with skepticism by the pharmaceutical industry, which says the strategy will fall flat unless there is a serious shift in the way new medicines are funded and valued. 16 July 2025
The US Food and Drug Administration approved, the first rapid-acting interchangeable biosimilar product, Kirsty (insulin aspart-xjhz, as a 3 mL single-patient-use prefilled pen and 10 mL multiple-dose vial. Kirsty is biosimilar to and interchangeable with Novolog (insulin aspart), from Denmark’s Novo Nordisk. 16 July 2025
China-based Jiangsu Hengrui Pharma and US start-up Kailera Therapeutics, which is advancing a broad pipeline of next-generation therapies for the treatment of obesity, today announced positive top-line data from Hengrui’s Phase III clinical trial (HRS9531-301) of once-weekly subcutaneous injection of HRS9531, a novel dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, in individuals living with obesity or overweight in China. 15 July 2025
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has today approved Ekterly (sebetralstat) 0for the treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks in adults and adolescents aged 12 years and older. 15 July 2025
A quiet shift with potentially big implications for cancer drug access is underway in the UK. In June, the country’s health technology assessor, NICE, recommended GSK’s Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin) in multiple myeloma. 14 July 2025
Germany’s Bayer has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Kerendia (finerenone) to treat patients with heart failure (HF) with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥40%, following the agency’s Priority Review of its supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA). 14 July 2025
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorized the use of Bayer's Lynkuet (elinzanetant) for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms (VMS) associated with menopause. 14 July 2025
Even as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has unveiled a strategic expansion of its oversight mechanisms for foreign manufacturing facilities supplying the American market, aiming to bolster product safety and ensure consistent quality for US consumers, the intensified oversight presents significant long-term benefits for the Indian pharmaceutical sector as a whole, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent. 14 July 2025
South Korea’s Samsung Bioepis today published a whitepaper titled ‘Solving the Biosimilar Void in Europe’ that proposes policy recommendations to fully recognize the value of biosimilars and ensure a more sustainable market in Europe. 14 July 2025
US biotech Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has released new data on its investigational oral therapy Palsonify (paltusotine), supporting its potential as a convenient alternative to monthly injections for patients with acromegaly. 14 July 2025
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has been dealt a regulatory setback, as the American medicines regulator has declined to approve its gene therapy UX111 (formerly ABO-102) for Sanfilippo syndrome type A. The decision, delivered in a complete response letter, will delay any potential approval until at least 2026. 14 July 2025
US biotech Capricor Therapeutics today revealed receipt of a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding its Biologics License Application (BLA) for deramiocel, the company’s lead cell therapy candidate for the treatment of cardiomyopathy associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). 11 July 2025
At its July meeting, the European Medicines Agency’s pharmacovigilance committee (PRAC) completed its review of French specialty vaccine maker Valneva Ixchiq (chikungunya virus vaccine, a live attenuated chikungunya vaccine, following reports of serious side effects. 11 July 2025
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified KalVista Pharmaceutical that it will not meet the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date for the New Drug Application (NDA) for sebetralstat, the company’s investigational oral on-demand treatment for hereditary angioedema (HAE). 14 June 2025
The Food and Drug Administration approved US pharma giant Merck & Co’s mega-blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for a new indication. 13 June 2025
US mRNA specialist Moderna today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved mRESVIA (mRNA-1345), the company's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by RSV in individuals 18-59 years of age who are at increased risk for disease. 13 June 2025
The American medicines regulator has approved Zusduri (mitomycin), a hydrogel-based treatment developed by US biotech UroGen Pharma, for adults with recurrent low-grade, intermediate-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (LG-IR-NMIBC). 13 June 2025
South Korean drugmaker JW Pharmaceutical has received regulatory approval in China for an injectable antibiotic made with its own synthesized active ingredient, marking a strategic expansion into the Asian market. 12 June 2025
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday approved Nuvation Bio’s Ibtrozi (taletrectinib), a kinase inhibitor, for adults with locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 12 June 2025
US biotech Novavax has reported that its experimental combination COVID-19 and influenza vaccine generated immune responses on par with approved shots in a descriptive Phase III trial involving older adults. The company said the results would help shape a future registrational study. 12 June 2025
The UK’s medicines regulator has released a suite of new guidelines to steer companies through its upcoming decentralized manufacturing framework, set to come into effect on July 23, 2025. 11 June 2025
Gilead Sciences has paused five clinical trials of its investigational HIV drugs GS-1720 and GS-4182 after the American medicines regulator raised safety concerns. The once-weekly oral regimen was being studied as an alternative to the company’s blockbuster daily pill, Biktarvy (bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide). 11 June 2025
June 10, 2025
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Enflonsia (clesrovimab-cfor) for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract disease in neonates (newborns) and infants who are born during or entering their first RSV season, US pharma giant Merck & Co revealed yesterday. 10 June 2025
US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has removed all 17 members of a key vaccine advisory committee, a move officials say is aimed at rebuilding public trust in the country’s immunization policies. 10 June 2025
Following global reports of serious adverse events in older people, the government’s independent expert advisory body, the UK’s Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), has temporarily restricted use of a chikungunya vaccine called Ixchiq in people aged 65 and over until a further safety review has been concluded. 10 June 2025
German science and technology firm Merck KGaA has moved a step closer to introducing a new therapy for tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT) in China, with regulators accepting its marketing application and initiating a priority review for pimicotinib. 10 June 2025
Privately-held Italian pharma company Italfarmaco today revealed that the European Commission (EC) has granted conditional marketing authorization for Duvyzat (givinostat), a novel histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor. 9 June 2025
Shares of Avidity Biosciences were up almost 5% at $38.00 pre-market today, as it announced the accelerated approval regulatory pathway in the USA is open for delpacibart braxlosiran (del-brax) in the treatment of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). 9 June 2025
George Medicines, a late-stage UK-based biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing unmet needs in cardiometabolic disease, revealed a regulatory approval that it says could reshape hypertension treatment in the USA. 9 June 2025
The European Council of Minister last week said it is ready to begin negotiations with the European Parliament, having agreed its position on new rules that aim to make the European Union’s (EU) pharmaceutical sector fairer and more competitive. 9 June 2025
Regulatory news last week included US biotech Moderna receiving Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its new COVID-19 Vaccine mNEXSPIKE. On the M&A front, French pharma major Sanofi announced it is punting more than $9 billion to acquire Blueprint Medicines and its Ayvakit, BLU-808 and immunology pipeline. USA-based Cullinan Therapeutics has entered into a license deal with China's Genrix Bio for the latter’s velinotamig for multiple myeloma. Also of note, RegeNXBio released what lookedlike good results for its investigational Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug RGX-202. 8 June 2025
AstraZeneca has received European approval for a fixed-duration regimen of Calquence (acalabrutinib) in combination with venetoclax, with or without obinutuzumab, for adults newly diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). 6 June 2025
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorized the use of German pharma major Bayer’s Nubeqa (darolutamide) for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) in combination with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). 6 June 2025