The UK’s new 2024 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access, and growth (VPAG) came into force at the beginning of January this year. 4 October 2024
GigaGen has been awarded a contract by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 4 October 2024
Oxford, UK-based Enara Bio today announces the closing of a $32.5 million Series B financing supported by a strong syndicate of new and existing biotech investors. 3 October 2024
French drugmaker Mitem Pharmavhas the worldwide acquisition of Desferal (deferoxamine), a major MITM in hematology, from Swiss giant Novartis. 25 September 2024
The Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) is further expanding its focus on life sciences by opening an institute for biomedical artificial intelligence (AI) based on a 150 million euros ($166.8 million) funding from the German non-profit Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation (BIS). 18 September 2024
Zenas BioPharma announced the pricing of its upsized initial public offering of 13,235,294 shares of its common stock at an initial public offering price of $17.00 per share. 13 September 2024
US pharma major Eli Lilly and Egyptian firm EVA Pharma have entered into an agreement to expand access to Olumiant (baricitinib) to an estimated 20,000 people in 49 low- to middle-income countries in Africa by 2030. 6 September 2024
Novartis is building two new radioligand therapy (RLT) manufacturing facilities in the USA to enhance its supply chain for cancer treatments. This move supports the growing use of RLTs, a form of precision medicine that targets tumors with radiation. 6 September 2024
Belgium’s largest drugmaker UCB announced a strategic divestment deal in China, underscoring its strategic shift towards innovation and partnership in one of the world’s fastest-growing pharmaceutical markets. 27 August 2024
The UK’s largest pharma company AstraZeneca has rejected claims that it is moving its vaccine operations to the USA, according to media reports. 23 August 2024
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma announced the termination of its exclusive sales rights agreements with AnGes for the HGF gene therapy product, Collategene (beperminogene perplasmid) intramuscular injection targeting peripheral arterial diseases in Japan and the USA. 23 August 2024
UK pharma major AstraZeneca has become the only current UK-lis¬ted company to reach a £200 billion ($256.4 billion) valuation, the Financial Times reported today, noting that it is a vindication of the company’s bet on developing a leading portfolio of cancer drugs. 14 August 2024
Japan’s Eisai and US biotech Biogen today revealed that the Ministry of Health and Prevention in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has approved Leqembi (lecanemab) for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). 14 August 2024
US pharma giant Pfizer has announced the publication of real-world results from a cohort of the longitudinal, observational Phase IV THAOS (Transthyretin Amyloidosis Outcomes Survey) study in the Journal of Cardiac Failure. 8 August 2024
Japanese drugmaker Shionogi says that its New Drug Application (NDA) for cefiderocol has been accepted for review by the Center for Drug Evaluation, National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). 5 August 2024
Germany’s Bayer has submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for approval to market elinzanetant for moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms (VMS), commonly known as hot flashes, associated with menopause. 2 August 2024
Boston, USA-based biopharma Karuna Therapeutics has announced the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its New Drug Application (NDA) for KarXT (xanomeline-trospium) to treat schizophrenia in adults. 30 November 2023
Industry analyst GlobalData has highlighted the potential of CAR T-cell therapy advancements in China, noting a relative lack of partnerships with global pharma companies. 30 November 2023
Top-line results from the single-arm Phase II LUMINOSITY trial evaluating telisotuzumab-vedotin (Teliso-V) in patients with c-Met protein overexpression, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) wild type, advanced/metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been released by AbbVie. 30 November 2023
Canada-headquartered Phenomic AI yesterday revealed a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with family-owned German pharma major Boehringer Ingelheim to discover targets important in stroma-rich cancers. 30 November 2023
Several Latin American countries, given their processes of political change, are immersed in deep discussions about transforming their health systems, writes The Pharma Letter's local correspondent. 29 November 2023
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has opted against recommending Crysvita (burosumab) to treat adults in England and Wales who have a confirmed diagnosis of X-linked hypophosphataemia (XLH). 29 November 2023
UK biotech Arecor Therapeutics’ shares edged up more than 2% to 190.00 pence today, after it announced the signing of further collaboration agreement with US pharma major Eli Lilly. 29 November 2023
As political leaders from around the world get ready to meet at the COP 28 climate conference, life science companies are taking steps to encourage sustainability within industry. 29 November 2023
California, USA-based biotech firm BioMarin Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: BMRN) has announced an agreement with the German National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV-SV) on the reimbursement amount for Roctavian (valoctocogene roxaparvovec-rvox) for people with severe hemophilia A. 29 November 2023
Tokyo-based Daiichi Sankyo (TYO: 4568) has announced that its booster vaccine Daichirona for Intramuscular Injection (DS-5670) has been approved as an Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted monovalent mRNA vaccine against COVID-19. 29 November 2023
Belgian biotech Agomab Therapeutics today announced the appointment of Dr Angelika Jahreis as an independent non-executive director to its board of directors, while Andrea Sáez will join Agomab’s executive leadership team as chief development officer. 29 November 2023
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said it has received reports of T-cell malignancies, including chimeric antigen receptor CAR-positive lymphoma, in patients who received treatment with BCMA- or CD19-directed autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell immunotherapies. 29 November 2023
Industry lobbyist Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has criticized greater use of prior authorization in Medicaid. 29 November 2023
Shares of Dutch immunology specialist Argenx (Euronext: ARGX) have dropped around a tenth following negative results from the ADVANCE-SC study. 29 November 2023
Swiss pharma giant Roche will resume the supply of its cystic fibrosis drug Pulmozyme (dornase alfa), as the company has found the way for its imports to the Russian market, The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent reports. 29 November 2023
US pharma giant Merck & Co has announced results from STRIDE-3, a Phase III trial evaluating V116, the company’s investigational 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine specifically designed to protect adults. 28 November 2023
US biopharma Novavax has been granted Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its updated COVID-19 jab for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 in people aged 12 and older. 28 November 2023
India's Draft Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2023, that propose several changes to India's patent regime, have raised significant concerns among public health experts, domestic drug industry chiefs, and civil society organizations. 28 November 2023
Shares of US RNA-focussed biotech Avidity Biosciences leapt as much as 35% pre-market, after it announced a global licensing and research collaboration with pharma major Bristol Myers Squibb focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of multiple cardiovascular targets. 28 November 2023