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FDA Delays Two Drugs in National Priority Voucher Program After Safety, Efficacy Flags

Internal documents show reviewers extended timelines after raising concerns over efficacy metrics, potential abuse risk, including a treatment-related death.

Overview

  • Disc Medicine’s bitopertin review was extended to February 10 as regulators questioned the trial’s “pain‑free time in the sun” endpoint and evaluated possible abuse risk.
  • Sanofi’s bid to expand Tzield for late‑stage type 1 diabetes was pushed back over serious adverse events, with the FDA citing a treatment‑related death and seeking details on seizure and clotting cases.
  • Scheduling documents indicate other priority picks have slipped, with Boehringer Ingelheim’s zongertinib now expected in mid‑February and Eli Lilly’s orforglipron targeted for April 10.
  • HHS said FDA divisions can adjust timelines at their discretion, and only one product to date—a generic Augmentin XR—has been approved through the voucher initiative.
  • Industry sources describe hesitancy to enter the program due to perceived legal exposure and concerns over politicization, even as some experts view the delays as evidence of reviewer caution.