Look back at pharma news in the week to August 6, 2021

Among last week’s notable news, 10 years after the last drug for systemic lupus erythematosus was cleared for marketing, the UK’s AstraZeneca gained approval for its Saphnelo (anifrolumab) for SLE from the US Food and Drug Administration. M&A featured, with French drugmaker Sanofi, in a bid to catch up in the mRNA sector, saying it was shelling out $3.2 billion to acquire Translate Bio, and then Germany’s Bayer on Thursday announced it is acquiring US biotech Vividion Therapeutics for up to $2 billion. Also of note, US biotech Regeneron Pharmaceuticals presented positive new Phase III results for its lung cancer drug Libtayo.

AstraZeneca joins GSK in lupus

AstraZeneca has managed to bag US approval for anifrolumab in systemic lupus erythematosus, despite its mixed data package, commented Madeleine Armstrong writing on Evaluate Vantage. The next question is whether the interferon type I inhibitor, now branded Saphnelo, can challenge the leading SLE therapy, GlaxoSmithKline’s Benlysta.