More sponsors are submitting applications around the same time requiring the agency to make complicated decisions about exclusivity and whether approval of subsequent applications is barred, FDA attorney says.

Lawsuit argues FDA wrongly determined that Avadel’s Lumryz is ‘clinically superior’ to Xywav because of once-nightly dosing. FDA’s Division of Neurology revised its initial opinion based on views of CDHR’s sleep team and additional input from the agency’s orphan drug office.

US FDA will continue to tie orphan exclusivity to uses or indications for which the drug was approved. Attorneys say this buys agency time to sort out complex policy and legal questions and continue to seek legislative fix. Additional litigation is also possible, as happened in Depomed case.

DC Circuit Court upholds FDA’s grant of new chemical entity exclusivity to Sanofi’s multiple sclerosis drug Aubagio (teriflunomide) even though the agency had previously approved teriflunomide as an impurity in Sanofi’s Arava (leflunomide). FDA reviews known impurities in drugs only to assess their impact on safety and efficacy, not to approve them, court says.