Benefits of independence from exogenous insulin outweighed the risks from long-term immunosuppression necessary with the allogeneic pancreatic islet cellular therapy, majority of panelists said, but they urged the FDA to limit the indication to a very small subpopulation of patients.

Agency wants to use pandemic-interrupted clinical trials to gauge how decentralized approaches impacted study integrity and to inform prospective use of such designs post-COVID.

Proportion of subjects with freedom from exogenous insulin ‘might support the efficacy’ of the allogeneic islet cellular therapy, US FDA says after concluding that issues in two studies limit interpretability of primary analyses based on severe hypoglycemic events and HbA1c levels. An advisory committee will weigh clinical efficacy, safety and product characterization issues.

US FDA not planning an advisory committee for Pfizer/BioNTech’s request for authorization in 12-15-year olds at this time, but CDC’s ACIP is likely to weigh how to balance timing of COVID vaccination with administration of other immunizations generally recommended for adolescents.

After Pfizer saw increased risks in a surveillance study of Xeljanz, three other products have also seen their user fee dates pushed back; if FDA were to convene an expert panel, it could lead to more consistent labeling across the class, as requested in a recent citizen petition.

US FDA and NIH leaders cite lack of early clinical trial coordination as a weakness in the pandemic response that led to use of compounds that were potentially harmful and, even today, still not proven to be effective.