Top Drug Stories

Acting on fresh health-risk assessments, the European Medicines Agency’s pharmacovigilance panel is calling for an EU-wide suspension of tetrazepam-containing drugs and recommending new restrictions on the use of a pair of French-made osteoporosis drugs.Read More

Industry stakeholders will have an opportunity to shape the FDA’s fiscal 2014 regulatory science roadmap for generic drugs during a June 21 public meeting at the agency’s headquarters.Read More

The White House Monday sought to block a lower court judge’s order requiring the FDA to remove all age restrictions from the emergency contraceptive known as Plan B One-Step.Read More

Alexion is reviewing its analytical methodologies and procedures to ensure its risk assessments meet the FDA’s expectations, the drugmaker said. Read More

The European Medicines Agency released a first revision of good pharmacovigilance practice guideline, adding practical instructions for the application, description and maintenance of the EU reference date list in — and amendments to — marketing authorizations.Read More

A federal judge Friday declined the Obama administration’s request to issue a stay pending appeal of his decision that would lift age and identification restrictions on Teva’s OTC emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step.Read More

A growing number of pivotal clinical trials — typically Phase III studies — submitted in support of drug applications in Europe are being conducted outside the region, a European Medicines Agency report finds.Read More

To improve engagement between the European Medicines Agency, drugmakers and scientific committees, the agency is putting in motion planned changes discussed late last year.Read More

CDER Director Janet Woodcock, appearing before a Senate panel Thursday, reiterated the FDA’s call for enhanced authority to seize compounding pharmacy records.Read More

Improved transparency and better access to biosimilars and orphan drugs are key goals in an emerging blueprint for industry being developed by a panel of European pharma stakeholders.Read More

In an effort to reduce filing errors, the FDA has launched a pilot program for the electronic submission of field alert reports (FARs) using the XML data format.Read More

Jazz Pharmaceuticals told investors Monday it expects the FDA to require modifications to the current risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) for its highly controlled narcolepsy drug Xyrem, a move some analysts say could expand market opportunities for generic competitors.Read More

The General Court of the European Union has issued a temporary injunction barring the European Medicines Agency (EMA) from releasing information on clinical data.Read More

Over the past two weeks, the FDA has issued a flurry of safety alerts to warn the public of problems with different drugs, including adverse events tied to the anti-seizure drug Potiga, fake Botox and fleck-infused containers of injectable drugs produced by Hospira.Read More

A House discussion draft establishing a national drug track-and-trace system has inched closer to mandating unit-level traceability, but House GOP leaders want the FDA to draft the needed regulations.Read More

An FDA official praised a new excipient supplier certification program for drug manufacturers as a way to safeguard supply chain quality and ease the pain of shortages. Read More

Gilead’s efforts to win approval of two HIV medications — already marketed as part of its quad combo Stribild — came to a halt April 29.Read More

In a move that drew disgruntled comments from FDA advisors, the agency on Friday approved Merck’s Liptruzet, a combination of Merck’s Zetia and Pfizer’s Lipitor, to treat hyperlipidemia.Read More

The California State Board of Pharmacy has reported a possible attempt to introduce counterfeit versions of EMD Serono’s Serostim, an HIV treatment, into the U.S. supply chain.Read More

After continuous stalling of Impax Pharmaceuticals’ Parkinson’s drug Rytary, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is pulling out of its development and marketing partnership with the smaller company.Read More

Sweeping legal reforms in China signal the country’s commitment to improving trade with the U.S., including pressing pharmaceutical industry concerns such as protecting intellectual property rights and enhanced enforcement of counterfeiting, a new government report states.Read More

A class action suit brought by a Pennsylvania-based union claims Warner Chilcott schemed a pay-for-delay deal with generic competitors to maintain a market for its contraceptive drug Loestrin 24 FE while it fights to cement a 16-year patent hold on a weaker, follow-on version.Read More

An FDA advisory committee rejected two proposed cancer therapies Thursday — a tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting advanced renal carcinoma and a drug-device combination product for treating a deadly form of liver cancer — citing concerns with safety and lack of supporting data.Read More

The high-profile battle over access to emergency contraception ramped up Wednesday with the Department of Justice (DOJ) appealing a federal court ruling that would mandate the FDA make TEVA’s Plan B One Step available without age restrictions by May 5.Read More

New FDA draft guidance shows a pathway to getting generic inhalers on the market, potentially spelling trouble for pharma giants AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline. Read More

The FDA handed generic drug giant Teva an untitled letter for making unproven superiority claims and omitting important details about its antipsychotic clozapine.Read More

Raptor Pharmaceuticals’ plans for breaking big into biotech took a giant leap forward Tuesday on the FDA’s approval of its lead product Procysbi, an orphan drug targeting some 3,000 patients worldwide who suffer from a rare disease involving cystine buildup in the body.Read More

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) plans to emphasize its “earlier access” and “adaptive licensing” programs to spur innovation, according to an agency five-year plan.Read More

Drugmakers should assess the risk of medical errors when designing and placing labeling for prescription drug and biologic containers and cartons, according to an FDA draft guidance.Read More

The FDA late Tuesday approved Teva’s Plan B One-Step contraception for women 15 years and older for over-the-counter use.Read More

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a concept paper on extrapolation of efficacy and safety in drug development, but some groups seek more details on the scope of various populations where extrapolation can be used.Read More

The FDA inspected approximately 830 foreign drug manufacturing sites in fiscal 2012, up from 700 in fiscal 2011 and 600 in fiscal 2010.Read More

The Justice Department filed a second civil false claims suit against Novartis late Friday for the second time in a week.Read More

Generic drugmakers will have between May 1, 2013, and June 1, 2013, to submit self-identification information to the FDA for fiscal 2014.Read More

Newly proposed rules greatly increase monetary incentives for whistleblowers to expose Medicare and Medicaid fraud, but still fall short of what the False Claims Act already offers.Read More