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
The latest Life Sciences Competitiveness Indicators published by the UK government suggests that international investors are abandoning the country’s life sciences sector as excessive revenue clawback rates start to bite. 13 July 2023
Today, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Opill (norgestrel) tablet for non-prescription use to prevent pregnancy - the first daily oral contraceptive approved for use in the USA without a prescription. 13 July 2023
The USA’s health technology assessor the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) today posted its revised Evidence Report assessing the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of two sickle cell disease gene therapies. 13 July 2023
Roche has announced that the Phase III OCARINA II trial evaluating OCREVUS (ocrelizumab) as a twice-yearly 10-minute subcutaneous (SC) injection met its primary and secondary endpoints in relapsing forms of MS or primary progressive MS (RMS or PPMS). 13 July 2023
US drug developer TheracosBio today announced that Brenzavvy (bexagliflozin), an approved oral sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, is now available by prescription through the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM). 13 July 2023
Recursion, a tech-bio firm seeking to decode biology to industrialize drug discovery, has announced a $50 million investment by US tech firm NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA), which was executed as a private investment in public equity (PIPE). 13 July 2023
French ophthalmology biotech company Nicox has provided details of a US market survey evaluating the commercial potential of its investigational drug NCX 470, a nitric oxide (NO)-donating bimatoprost aimed at treating angle ocular or ocular hypertension. 13 July 2023
As interest in advanced therapies continues to surge, a new ophthalmic specialist focused on cell-based medicines has been launched with $70 million in series A financing. 13 July 2023
The World Health Organization (WHO) has prequalified the meningococcal meningitis vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and PATH, a global non-profit. 13 July 2023
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has published key data on cytisinicline, from US specialty pharma Achieve Life Sciences. 12 July 2023
Japan’s largest drugmaker Takeda announced that it has voluntarily withdrawn the US Biologics License Application (BLA) for its dengue vaccine candidate, TAK-003. 12 July 2023
ADC Therapeutics has announced a pause in patient enrollment in the Phase II LOTIS-9 trial of Zynlonta (loncastuximab tesirine-lpyl) and rituximab (Lonca-R) in unfit or frail patients with previously-untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. 12 July 2023
The recent full approval of Leqembi (lecanemab-irmb) has upped the stakes for what promises to be a particularly intriguing congress of the Alzheimer’s Association next week. 12 July 2023
US gene therapy company Avrobio today announced that it has completed a review of its business, including the status of its programs, resources, and capabilities, joining a growing list of biotechs that have recently announced similar actions. 12 July 2023
Global drugmakers continue to defend the rights for their original drugs in Russia by participating in legal disputes with local generics’ producers, The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent reports. 12 July 2023
The Swiss subsidiary of Sino-American biotech BeiGene and Swiss pharma giant Novartis on Tuesday entered into a mutual termination and release agreement to mutually terminate the option agreement, effective immediately. 12 July 2023
Boston, USA-based Crossbow Therapeutics, a biotech developing a new class of potent and precise antibody therapies to treat a broad range of cancers, has announced an $80 million Series A funding round. 12 July 2023
The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), the global sector trade body, today announced a new line up for its chief executive (CEO) leadership team for the coming two years. 12 July 2023