The week in pharma: action, reaction and insight – week to November 17, 2023

By Barbara Obstoj-Cardwell. Editor

Important research news last week included Denmark’s Novo Nordisk presenting strong new data for its weight management drug Wegovy, showing that it improves cardiovascular outcomes in at-risk patients with BMI of 27 and above with established CVD, without diabetes. On the deal-making front, Switzerland’s Basilea Pharmaceutica entered into an asset purchase deal with US pharma giant Pfizer subsidiary Amplyx for fosmanogepix, an antifungal candidate. Additionally, Gilead Science’s Kite subsidiary expanded its ACLX-001 multiple myeloma collaboration with Arcellx. Also of note, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) made history last week, becoming the first anywhere to approve Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics’ gene therapy exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel), now trade named Casgevy, for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia.

Novo Nordisk: Payers stand down: arbitrary BMI hurdles for GLP-1s inappropriate