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14 March 2025 The UK government plans to raise the Statutory Scheme payment rate for newer branded medicines from 15.5% to 32.2% of subject companies' National Health Service (NHS) sales in the second half of 2025.
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Biotechnology
California-based Latigo Biotherapeutics, a biotech developing non-opioid pain treatments, has closed $150 million in a Series B financing. 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
Japanese drugmaker Otsuka Holdings’ subsidiary Taiho Pharmaceuticals is to buy Araris Biotech, a Swiss oncology firm developing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
Switzerland-headquartered iOnctura today announced the appointments of Elizabeth Holt as chief business officer (CBO) and Dr Mark Velleca as chairman of the board of directors. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Hours after the swearing-in of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy Jr (RFK), President Donald Trump issued an executive order establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission (MAHA). 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Abalone Bio, an antibody company measuring large-scale activity data to drive AI-powered discovery of active therapeutics, has announced a collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, to develop new antibody-based obesity drugs. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Sales of antidepressants in Russia during the period of January-February 2025 amounted to 2.8 billion roubles ($30 million) with a total of 3.2 million packages sold, which became a record figure for the country in the last five years, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
High-level results from the CALYPSO Phase III trial showed that eneboparatide (AZP-3601), an investigational parathyroid hormone (PTH) receptor 1 agonist, met its primary endpoint with statistical significance in adults with chronic hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) at 24 weeks, compared to placebo 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
AstraZeneca today revealed it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire EsoBiotec, a Belgium-based biotechnology company pioneering in vivo cell therapies that has demonstrated promising early clinical activity. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
The Roche subsidiary Genentech has presented five-year SUNFISH data on Evrysdi (risdiplam) in the final readout of this pivotal study. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca and Korean biotech Alteogen have entered into an exclusive license agreement for ALT-B4, a novel hyaluronidase using Hybrozyme platform technology. 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
The European Commission (EC) has granted approval to Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel; liso-cel), a CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy from Bristol Myers Squibb, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Spanish plasma-derived medicines specialist Grifols has announced positive results from its Phase II/III clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of its intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) to treat patients with post-polio syndrome (PPS), demonstrating a significant improvement in distance walked compared to placebo. 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
Cambridge, UK-based biotech start-up Maxion Therapeutics, which is developing antibody-based KnotBody drugs for ion channel- and G protein coupled receptor (GPCR)-driven diseases, has raised $72 million (£58 million) in a Series A financing. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Fourteen public and private parties, including pharmaceutical companies Astellas and Merck KGaA, have developed a drug for a 'forgotten' tropical disease: schistosomiasis. This is a serious worm infection that mainly occurs in Africa and South America. 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) meeting last week continued to provide positive news, including from US biotech Amgen and Japan’s Kyowa Kirin, with Phase III results for their rocatinlimab as a potential treatment for severe atopic dermatitis. In other news, Denmark’s Novo Nordisk released new data for its obesity hopeful CagriSema, which again failed to impress. Last week also saw US biotech 2seventy bio accept a takeover bid from Bristol Myers Squibb along with their partnered CAR-T cell therapy Abecma. Additionally, USA-based Sareum Holdings has in-licensed a cancer candidate, SRA737, from an unnamed company. 16 March 2025
Biotechnology
US biotech Regenxbio has successfully completed the BLA submission for its mucopolysaccharidosis II (MPS II) RGX-111 and is on track for potential US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval via accelerated approval in second-half 2025. 15 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Chinese pharmaceutical company Fosun Pharmaceutical Group has agreed to sell its stake in private hospital operator United Family Healthcare to an investment firm owned by US private equity giant Warburg Pincus. 14 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Guaranteed success in drug development does not exist, such are the inherent risks, potential pitfalls and costs involved. 14 March 2025
Biotechnology
Innovent Biologics has gained approval in China for Sycume (teprotumumab), the country’s first IGF-1R antibody for thyroid eye disease (TED).
The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) cleared the treatment, making it the second IGF-1R antibody therapy approved globally. 14 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its recommendations to vaccine manufacturers for the virus strains to be used in influenza (flu) vaccines for the 2025-2026 US flu season following a thorough and comprehensive review of US and global surveillance data. 14 March 2025
All news
Biotechnology
California-based Latigo Biotherapeutics, a biotech developing non-opioid pain treatments, has closed $150 million in a Series B financing. 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
Japanese drugmaker Otsuka Holdings’ subsidiary Taiho Pharmaceuticals is to buy Araris Biotech, a Swiss oncology firm developing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
Switzerland-headquartered iOnctura today announced the appointments of Elizabeth Holt as chief business officer (CBO) and Dr Mark Velleca as chairman of the board of directors. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Hours after the swearing-in of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy Jr (RFK), President Donald Trump issued an executive order establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission (MAHA). 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Abalone Bio, an antibody company measuring large-scale activity data to drive AI-powered discovery of active therapeutics, has announced a collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, to develop new antibody-based obesity drugs. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Sales of antidepressants in Russia during the period of January-February 2025 amounted to 2.8 billion roubles ($30 million) with a total of 3.2 million packages sold, which became a record figure for the country in the last five years, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
High-level results from the CALYPSO Phase III trial showed that eneboparatide (AZP-3601), an investigational parathyroid hormone (PTH) receptor 1 agonist, met its primary endpoint with statistical significance in adults with chronic hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) at 24 weeks, compared to placebo 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
AstraZeneca today revealed it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire EsoBiotec, a Belgium-based biotechnology company pioneering in vivo cell therapies that has demonstrated promising early clinical activity. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
The Roche subsidiary Genentech has presented five-year SUNFISH data on Evrysdi (risdiplam) in the final readout of this pivotal study. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca and Korean biotech Alteogen have entered into an exclusive license agreement for ALT-B4, a novel hyaluronidase using Hybrozyme platform technology. 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
The European Commission (EC) has granted approval to Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel; liso-cel), a CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy from Bristol Myers Squibb, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Spanish plasma-derived medicines specialist Grifols has announced positive results from its Phase II/III clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of its intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) to treat patients with post-polio syndrome (PPS), demonstrating a significant improvement in distance walked compared to placebo. 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
Cambridge, UK-based biotech start-up Maxion Therapeutics, which is developing antibody-based KnotBody drugs for ion channel- and G protein coupled receptor (GPCR)-driven diseases, has raised $72 million (£58 million) in a Series A financing. 17 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Fourteen public and private parties, including pharmaceutical companies Astellas and Merck KGaA, have developed a drug for a 'forgotten' tropical disease: schistosomiasis. This is a serious worm infection that mainly occurs in Africa and South America. 17 March 2025
Biotechnology
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) meeting last week continued to provide positive news, including from US biotech Amgen and Japan’s Kyowa Kirin, with Phase III results for their rocatinlimab as a potential treatment for severe atopic dermatitis. In other news, Denmark’s Novo Nordisk released new data for its obesity hopeful CagriSema, which again failed to impress. Last week also saw US biotech 2seventy bio accept a takeover bid from Bristol Myers Squibb along with their partnered CAR-T cell therapy Abecma. Additionally, USA-based Sareum Holdings has in-licensed a cancer candidate, SRA737, from an unnamed company. 16 March 2025
Biotechnology
US biotech Regenxbio has successfully completed the BLA submission for its mucopolysaccharidosis II (MPS II) RGX-111 and is on track for potential US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval via accelerated approval in second-half 2025. 15 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Chinese pharmaceutical company Fosun Pharmaceutical Group has agreed to sell its stake in private hospital operator United Family Healthcare to an investment firm owned by US private equity giant Warburg Pincus. 14 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
Guaranteed success in drug development does not exist, such are the inherent risks, potential pitfalls and costs involved. 14 March 2025
Biotechnology
Innovent Biologics has gained approval in China for Sycume (teprotumumab), the country’s first IGF-1R antibody for thyroid eye disease (TED).
The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) cleared the treatment, making it the second IGF-1R antibody therapy approved globally. 14 March 2025
Pharmaceutical
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its recommendations to vaccine manufacturers for the virus strains to be used in influenza (flu) vaccines for the 2025-2026 US flu season following a thorough and comprehensive review of US and global surveillance data. 14 March 2025
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