FDA takes a pass on pegvaliase panel; Flexion terminates an old AstraZeneca pact

⇨ BioMarin says that the FDA is indicating that it won’t be holding a panel review for pegvaliase as a new treatment for phenylketonuria (PKU). That is likely to somewhat improve its odds of success, with a priority review and a PDUFA date of February 28, 2018.

⇨ Flexion Therapeutics has sent a notice to AstraZeneca terminating their deal on FX005’s sustained-release p38 MAP, or mitogen-activated protein, kinase inhibitor development program. Flexion has dumped the drug from its pipeline.

⇨ Canada’s AbCellera Biologics has forged a deal with GSK where it will apply its high-throughput single-cell antibody screening platform to identify antibodies against an undisclosed membrane protein target.