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
Nkarta, a US biopharma developing engineered natural killer (NK) cell therapies to treat cancer, has announced the appointment of a chief medical officer (CMO). 11 January 2023
Global life sciences mergers and acquisitions (M&A) investment totaled $105 billion in the first 11 months of 2022, with total deal value well down on 2021, according to the 11th edition of the annual EY M&A Firepower report published this week. 11 January 2023
Californian biotech Jasper Therapeutics has announced that it will focus on the development of its lead product candidate, briquilimab, in chronic diseases and stem cell transplant for rare diseases. 11 January 2023
Privately-held USA-based small-molecule mRNA translation specialist Anima Biotech has entered into other major collaboration, this time with US pharma major AbbVie, which is potentially worth more than $580 million and is aimed at discovering and developing drugs that modulate mRNA biology for three targets in cancer or immune disorders. 11 January 2023
Presentations from German group Bayer at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference have rallied investors’ confidence in the company’s mid-term prospects. 11 January 2023
The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) has published its report on new drug approvals in 2022, Advancing Health Through Innovation: New Drug Therapy Approvals. 11 January 2023
California, USA-based Coherus BioSciences’ shares closed up almost 10% at $9.85 yesterday, when it announced the execution of a binding term sheet with Germany’s Klinge Biopharma for the exclusive US commercialization rights to FYB203, a biosimilar candidate to Eylea (aflibercept). 11 January 2023
Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, the wholly-owned but independently operated subsidiary of Bayer, has signed a multi-year research collaboration and option agreement with ReCode Therapeutics. 10 January 2023
US precision immuno-oncology biotech NextPoint Therapeutics has raised $80 million in a Series B financing co-led by Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm of Germany’s Bayer, and Sanofi Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm for French drugmaker Sanofi. 10 January 2023
Massachusetts, USA-based biotech Selecta Biosciences’ shares were up 11% at $1.37, after it announced an exclusive licensing and development agreement with Japan’s Astellas Pharma for IdeXork (Xork). 10 January 2023
UK-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm InstaDeep is to be acquired by immunotherapy specialist BioNTech for $440 million plus up to $243 million in milestone payments. 10 January 2023
California-headquartered company Agilent Technologies is to spend $725 million on doubling its manufacturing capacity of therapeutic nucleic acids. 10 January 2023
Shares of Novavax closed up 11.25% at $12.26 yesterday after it announced a successor for its president and chief executive Stanley Erck, who plans to retire. 10 January 2023
California, USA-based biotech TRex Bio closed up 1.7% at $46.71 yesterday, after it announced a multi-year research collaboration and exclusive worldwide license agreement with US pharma major Eli Lilly to develop novel therapies for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases. 10 January 2023
Drug imports to Russia are ongoing almost in the same volumes as in the past, despite the current situation in Russia, according to recent statements by Viktor Dmitriev, general director of the Association of Russian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (ARPM) and some independent local analysts in the field of pharmaceuticals. 10 January 2023
PSK Pharma, a Russian drugmaker that is part of the local Rus Biopharm Group, is looking to become one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Russia in the coming years to come, achieving this by a significant increase of its output and expansion of its range, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 10 January 2023
German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim and privately-held 3T Biosciences have entered into a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement to discover and develop new cancer therapies. 9 January 2023
Today, US biotech Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals announced positive top-line data from a Phase II placebo-controlled study evaluating an investigational RNAi therapeutic, fazirsiran (TAK-999/ARO-AAT), for the treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin (AATD) liver disease. 9 January 2023