The US FDA’s use of outside expert advisory committees rebounded from historic lows in 2022 – but just barely. Will Commissioner Califf’s ‘update’ of the process finally mean more committee meetings in 2023?

Office of New Drugs grants company’s appeal of complete response letter for tenapanor in dialysis patients, marking a rare sponsor victory through the agency’s formal dispute resolution process; new drug application resubmission is targeted for first half of 2023.

Tenapanor could be an option for dialysis patients who cannot tolerate phosphate binder therapy or who need more help in reaching their serum phosphorous targets, advisory committee members said; Office of New Drugs director Peter Stein is expected to rule on Ardelyx’s appeal of a complete response letter within 30 days.

Agency previously declined to approved tenapanor for the control of serum phosphorous levels in chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis, saying the magnitude of treatment effect on a surrogate endpoint in three clinical trials was less than that observed with approved drugs and of unclear significance.