Senators Slam AveXis, Call For FDA Retribution, Stricter Regulation

A group of five senators, including 2020 presidential hopefuls Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), pilloried drug-maker AveXis on Friday (Aug. 9) for not telling FDA it had manipulated testing data for its new gene therapy drug, Zolgensma, until after the drug’s approval. The lawmakers argued that the secrecy smacked of greed and privilege, considering the drug had been developed in part through taxpayer-funded research and accelerated approval pathways. Though FDA has said the manipulation did not affect Zolgensma’s...