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The Pharmalot Blog today reported that FDA, for the second time in four months, has postponed plans to issue its widely anticipated guidance on social media. Guidance was initially expected last December. When FDA announced it wasn’t going to be able to make its original deadline, the guidance was rescheduled for release in the first quarter of 2011, which was presumably was to occur this month. At this point it is anyone’s guess as to when the long awaited guidance document(s) will be issued by the agency.

According to the Pharmalot post the guidance will address:

“responding to unsolicited requests; fulfilling regulatory requirements when using tools associated with space limitations; fulfilling post-marketing submission requirements; online communications for which manufacturers, packers, or distributors are accountable; use of links on the Internet and correcting misinformation…”

The agency further added:

“We are developing multiple draft guidances to address these topics to benefit industry and the public by ensuring that these draft guidances are meaningful and well thought out when they are issued.”

While many companies still contend that FDA’s guidance will be necessary for them to engage in social media, most have realized that if they wait for the agency’s guidance the social media craze may pass them by; possibly jeopardizing substantial financial opportunities afforded by social media in other industries. The notion that FDA’s guidance on social media will help pharma unravel the so-called social media conundrum is misguided and, in my humble opinion, wishful thinking. 

Companies who are familiar with working with FDA understand that guidance documents may offer some help to better understand certain regulations. But, it is generally up to a company with questions to directly solicit input from the agency rather than rely on an interpretation of a specific guidance recommendation (s). The goal of social media is to promote conversations and provide greater transparency surrounding both business and social interactions. Ironically, it appears the many of the companies that are most anxiously awaiting FDA’s social media guidance are the very ones that want to continue to develop products without involving the agency unless absolutely necessary. Go figure.....

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Tweeting*

*Although FDA has yet to issue social media for the life sciences industry it has a YouTube Channel, Facebook Page  and at least two twitter accounts (@FDA_Drug_Info and @FDArecalls)!

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Theravance Inc. announced Thursday US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators are not satisfied with new data on its infection drug candidate telavancin (Vibativ), and indicated that further clinical studies may be required to win marketing approval.

Approval of Vibativ has been held up for three years, as the Food and Drug Administration asked the company for more data about the drug, and about studies Theravance has conducted in support of its application to the FDA. Theravance said Thursday the FDA told it the data so far is not enough to prove Vibativ works.

The agency will not begin a formal review of the drug until it says it is satisfied with the data.

Vibativ, or telavancin, is an injection intended to treat complicated or drug-resistant infections like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Theravance submitted an NDA to FDA for review in December 2006.

According to Theravance, the FDA did not say Theravance would have to run a new clinical trial to gain approval, but it suggested a design for such a study. Company representative said that they do not know what the FDA wants and said the agency did not provide any suggestions about the goals of the proposed study, how many patients should be included, or even how many studies might be required ( I guess it may be time for a meeting to discuss these issues?).

In response to the FDA’s previous requests for more data on telavancin, Theravance said it combined data from two late stage trials of Vibativ, with the goal of making the data more comparable. It said the FDA told it that the data is equal to only one study. Two late-stage trials are often required to win approval.

Theravance said it has tested Vibativ on about 1,500 patients and said its studies are the largest that have been submitted in support of a new drug of its type.

Regulatory concerns about Vibativ include a risk of birth defects when it is used in pregnant women, manufacturing issues, and questions about data comparing the drug to vancomycin, which is the most powerful antibiotic currently on the market.

While getting new antibiotics are the market are important, clinical studies must be carefully designed with appropriate endpoint to address potential safety and efficacy issues. Although Theravance believes that it has done that, the agency, as always, will be the final arbiter of a decision on telavancin.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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US Food and Drug Administration regulators announced on Friday that it will take three months longer than expected to decide whether Entereg, a treatment for post-operative ileus being co-developed by GlaxoSmithKline, will receive marketing approval. The drug was originally supposed to be reviewed for an up-or-down decision on Feb. 10.

Entereg is being co-developed with Pennsylvania-based Adolor Corporation. Post-operative ileus affects patients after bowel surgery. Symptoms include constipation and other gastrointestinal dysfunction.

An FDA advisory panel recommended approval in January but said Adolor needed to come up with a better plan to manage long term use of the drug. FDA regulators are concerned about safety data showing that long term use of Entereg can have adverse cardiovascular effects.

Adolor has submitted a new risk-management plan to the FDA, which will take the extra three months to review it.  GlaxoSmithKline will split the revenue from any U.S. sales of Entereg with Adolor and is responsible for commercialization of the drug outside the country.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

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Last December, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked GlaxoSmithKline for additional information related to its cervical cancer vaccine Cervarix. The company has yet to reply to unspecified queries in the FDA's "complete response letter" that it received last December.

Many analysts believe Cervarix is now unlikely to be launched until 2009 at the earliest. GSK won European regulatory approval last July for the vaccine and had originally anticipated a US launch by the start of this year. However, FDA requested clarification after GSK's submission last April based on interim clinical data that the submitted from its most comprehensive five-year clinical trial for the vaccine. Financial analysts believe that FDA concerns may center on GSK's proprietary AS04 adjuvant that is used  in Cervarix to improve the effectiveness of the vaccine.

The delay has been a serious blow to GSK’s efforts to generate fresh product sales and catch up with Gardasil, the rival HPV vaccine developed by Merck & Co, which is available in the US and Europe.

I wonder whether the delay at FDA is really based on legitimate regulatory and scientific concerns. As you may recall, Merck launched a flat-out, take-no-prisoners lobbying campaign to get State and Federal legislators to mandate that all girls 10-21 years old be vaccinated with Gardasil. While Merck abruptly abandoned its lobbying efforts last fall after it came under fire from various legislative and regulatory sources, I can’t help but wonder whether Merck achieved its intended objectives anyway—to keep Cervarix out of the US market as long as possible so that Merck can capture a majority share of the lucrative American cervical cancer market.

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try Rahway)!!!!!!!!!

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Wyeth and its development partner, Tarrytown NY-based Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc, said on Thursday that U.S. regulators have delayed a review of their experimental drug to treat opioid-induced constipation in order to further review certain safety data.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked for the results of a recently completed study of the drug, methylnaltrexone, on QT prolongation, a disorder of the heart's electrical system. The companies said the study submitted to the FDA examined the effect of intravenous methylnaltrexone, which is being developed for post-operative ileus, a dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract following surgery.

Both companies hope that FDA will review the application by the end of April, three months later than expected. I suspect that the old adage “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again” may be the new mantra at Wyeth these days!

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!

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