Virtual meetings, FDA decisions, and more

Lynne Peterson is the Senior Writer for Trends-in-Medicine.

Here is the medical news to watch for February 1-6, 2021.

Burns: The FDA is expected to make a decision by February 2 on a regenerative cell therapy – Mallinckrodt’s StrataGraft, a circular patch of human cell-based skin tissue – to treat thermal burn wounds and to reduce the use of autograft.

Cosmetics: The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) virtual meeting will take place February 3-13. There will be live streamed surgical procedures throughout, and the first four days will include sessions on facelifts, the Brazilian butt lift, hair restoration, rhinoplasty, cosmetic gynecology, breast implants, and more.

Covid-19: There are no exact dates yet, but data are expected this week for two Covid-19 vaccines:

  • Phase III results with Johnson & Johnson’s Ad26.COV2.S (JNJ-78436735), a one-dose vaccine.
  • The results of an open-label, dose-ranging Phase I trial of Vaxart’s VXA-CoV2-1, an oral tablet vaccine which can be stored at room temperature. It is being studied with both one dose and two doses.
  • The World Health Organization’s vaccine advisory panel, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE), is tentatively scheduled to review AstraZeneca’s AZD-1222 vaccine on February 8.

Neurology: The FDA is expected to make a decision by February 1 on expanded approval for Adamas Pharmaceuticals’ Gocovri (amantadine extended-release) to treat Parkinson’s disease patients with OFF episodes on levodopa.

Oncology

  • The Society of Interventional Oncology (SIO) virtual meeting will take place February 3-6. Among the topics will be non-opiate pain palliation, complications of renal cell cancer ablation, liver-directed therapies, pulmonary embolisms in cancer patients, wearables, robotics, new guidelines, current controversies in hepatocellular carcinoma, and more.
  • The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Liver Cancer Summit will take place virtually February 5-6. The meeting will include concise but comprehensive updates on basic, translational, and clinical data. Among the topics will be understanding the plasticity of the genomics of liver cancer, ex vivo modeling of liver cancer, the microenvironment in cholangiocarcinoma, the epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma, and more.
  • The FDA and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) are jointly sponsoring a two-day virtual workshop on February 2-3 on issues with adherence to oral anti-cancer agents and possible solutions.
  • Change of plans. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting was scheduled to be in-person in Chicago June 4-8, but ASCO has given up that idea, and the meeting will now be entirely virtual. Watch for other conferences to do the same. In-person medical conferences before the end of this year (at the earliest) now appear very unlikely.

Ophthalmology: The Macula Society’s virtual Macula 2021 has been condensed into a two-day meeting February 6-7. Topics will include imaging, non-neovascular and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), inherited retinal diseases, tumors, basic science, diabetic retinopathy, and more.

Regulatory

  • FDA will host a webinar on February 1 for industry, healthcare facilities, medical societies, and others on final guidance on its Safer Technologies Program for medical devices.
  • The FDA is holding a two-day virtual public meeting February 2-3 on the scientific and ethical considerations of including pregnant women in clinical trials.

Lynne Peterson, Contributing Writer, Senior Writer for Trends-in-Medicine

Cat ID: 935

Topic ID: 78,935,730,935,190,37,192,725,925,240

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