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
US healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson and Japanese drugmaker Astellas have joined a growing list of companies and groups that are suing the US government over its Medicare price-setting policies. 20 July 2023
Sandoz, the global generic and biosimilar medicines of Swiss pharma giant Novartis, today announced an investment of around $90 million at its site in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to establish a dedicated Sandoz Biopharma Development Center by 2026. 20 July 2023
New data from Merck & Co will help push its flagship immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) into earlier lines of treatment in cervical cancer. 20 July 2023
The Center for Drug Evaluation of China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation (BTD) for the combination of fruquintinib and sintilimab (a PD-1 antibody). 20 July 2023
Negotiations over the future of drug pricing in the UK are off to a rocky start, as the UK government seeks to sustain the high rebate rates in the current statutory regime. 20 July 2023
Boston, USA-based biotech start-up Jnana Therapeutics has appointed Dr George Vratsanos as its chief medical officer and head of research and development. 20 July 2023
Prices for imported active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are rising again in Russia after the decline in 2022. This year the growth is equivalent to by 40%-100% year-on-year due to the devaluation of the rouble and the need to use intermediaries for these procurements, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 20 July 2023
A new analysis of clinical research into selinexor suggests it could be an effective maintenance therapy for certain people with endometrial cancer. 19 July 2023
Leading Russian patient communities have once again called on the state to increase public procurements of HIV drugs – in a move to prevent the risks of a shortage of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in the second half of 2023, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 19 July 2023
A finger prick blood test shows promise in the ability to detect Alzheimer’s disease, according to research reported for the first time today at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2023. 19 July 2023
Brighton, UK-based infectious disease specialist Destiny Pharma today announced that Chris Tovey will join the company as chief executive (CEO) on September 1, 2023. 19 July 2023
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has published a draft reflection paper outlining the current thinking on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to support the safe and effective development, regulation and use of medicines. 19 July 2023
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is again flexing its muscles in the pharma sector, with the aim of blocking IQVIA Holdings, the world’s largest health care data provider, from acquiring Propel Media (PMI). 19 July 2023
Massachusetts, USA-based biotech incubator Flagship Pioneering and US pharma giant Pfizer have announced a novel agreement to create a new pipeline of innovative medicines. 19 July 2023
UK biotech start-up Bloomsbury Genetic Therapies says that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Rare Pediatric Disease designation (RPDD) for BGT-OTCD, the company’s investigational liver-targeted gene therapy for the treatment of Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD). 19 July 2023
Right now, the biosimilars market is at a major inflection point, with momentum building in the US Congress for new drug pricing legislation while new biosimilars of America’s bestselling biologic medicine have come to market. 19 July 2023