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
Friday produced a mixed decision from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for biotechs Sage Therapeutics and its partner Biogen regarding their new type of antidepressant. 5 August 2023
Sino-American biotech specializing in liver disease and cancer Terns Pharmaceuticals has announced that Senthil Sundaram has resigned from his position as Terns’ chief executive for health reasons previously disclosed in January 2022. 5 August 2023
US biotech Biogen announced a major M&A deal in July, with Eli Lilly and Novartis the other big biopharma companies to unveil acquisitions during the month. 4 August 2023
Australian regenerative medicine company Mesoblast saw its shares plunge almost 57% to A$0.47 after it revealed a second setback in the development of it remestemcel-L. 4 August 2023
Privately-held UK biotech Evox Therapeutics has announced a research collaboration and option agreement with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Icahn Mount Sinai) in New York, USA. 4 August 2023
Ryvu Therapeutics has finalized two important agreements with Fortrea, with the news edging the Polish biotech’s shares up 1.7% to 60.00 zloty by mid-afternoon. 4 August 2023
Like other pharma majors that achieved huge sales and profits at the height of related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has since subsided, pioneering US mRNA company Moderna reported a massive decline in second-quarter 2023 revenues. 4 August 2023
US biotech major Gilead Sciences late yesterday announced results of operations for the second quarter of 2023, reducing the range for its earnings outlook after posting mixed results for the three months, but its shares managed a small initial 1.2% rise. 4 August 2023
Agios Pharmaceuticals has signed exclusive worldwide license agreement with fellow USA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals to acquire the rights to develop and commercialize Alnylam’s novel pre-clinical siRNA targeting TMPRSS6, as a potential disease-modifying treatment for patients with polycythemia vera (PV). 4 August 2023
UK drugmaker GSK is suing Pfizer to add further intensity to the race to grab the lion’s share of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine market. 3 August 2023
US autoimmune drug developer Kyverna Therapeutics today announced the close of an oversubscribed $60 million Series B financing round extension, bringing the total Series B financing round to $145 million. 3 August 2023
US biotech Regeneron Pharmaceuticals today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2023 and provided a business update that pleased investors and sent the firm’s up 4.2% to $769.81 in early market activity. 3 August 2023
Life sciences company Merck KGaA revealed declining sales and profits in its latest quarterly sales figures, but the sums still exceeded the expectations of analysts. 3 August 2023
German pharma major Bayer’s independently-operated subsidiary BlueRock Therapeutics has entered into a collaboration and option agreement with machine learning-powered bit.bio for the discovery and manufacture of iPSC-derived regulatory T cells (Tregs) for use in creating therapeutics. 3 August 2023
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Lonsurf (trifluridine/tipiracil), developed by Taiho Oncology Inc and Taiho Pharmaceutical, subsidiaries of Japanese drugmaker Otsuka Holdings, with the decision coming ahead of the August 13 expected date. 3 August 2023
Privately-held USA-based CG Oncology, previously known as Cold Genesys, has announced the closing of an oversubscribed $105 million crossover financing round. 3 August 2023
South Korea’s Samsung Bioepis and USA-based Organon have announced the interchangeable result of its Humira (adalimumab) biosimilar, SB5, based on a recently conducted Phase IV study. 3 August 2023