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
Months after estimating that a fair US price for Pfizer’s Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) would be between $3,600 and $5,800, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has drastically changed its view. 21 December 2022
Respiratory disease specialist Verona Pharma has seen its shares jump from around $13 to $18 following positive results from the Phase III ENHANCE-1 trial. 21 December 2022
US clinical-stage biotech Magenta Therapeutics has halted dosing in one of the groups taking part in a Phase I/II study of cancer candidate MGTA-117. 21 December 2022
UK pharma major AstraZeneca today announced two approvals from the European Commission for expanded indications for its blockbuster cancer drugs, one for Imfinzi (durvalumab) and the other for Lynparza (olaparib). 21 December 2022
The volume of drug production in Russia is steadily growing this year despite the ever-tightening sanctions regime and international isolation of Russia, according to recent statements by some leading local pharma analysts and the Russian media, reports The Parma Letter’s local correspondent. 21 December 2022
Danish allergy immunotherapy specialist ALK Abello today announced that Dr Henriette Mersebach will join the company as executive vice president, research and development and member of the board of management. 21 December 2022
The European Commission (EC) has granted conditional marketing authorization for the use of Zynlonta (loncastuximab tesirine) for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), Swedish Orphan Biovitrum, also known as Sobi, and Switzerland’s ADC Therapeutics announced today. 21 December 2022
Russian patients with Parkinson's disease have faced a shortage of life-saving drugs based on levodopa, as, according to latest data of the Russian analyst agency RNC Pharma, the supply of these drugs has decreased by 49% in a year. 21 December 2022
Life sciences industry analyst GlobalData has identified significant opportunities for drug developers in the area of diabetic neuropathic pain medicine. 20 December 2022
US biotech major Gilead Science today revealed that its Kite subsidiary has reached agreement to acquire privately-held Tmunity Therapeutics, a start-up set up by Carl June and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania and with former Novartis heavyweight Usman ‘Oz’ Azam as chief executive. 20 December 2022
Japanese drugmaker Eisai saw its shares fall nearly 4% to 9,038 yen today, after it announced it is divesting US rights to its anti-epileptic drug Fycompa (perampanel) to Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, whose shares moved up 7.4% to $17.63 on the news. 20 December 2022
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for Priority Review the supplemental Biologics License Applications (sBLAs) for Seagen and Astellas’ Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) and Merck & Co’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab). 20 December 2022
Californian companies Gilead Sciences and Arcus Biosciences have announced positive results from the fourth interim analysis of the ARC-7 study. 20 December 2022
German pharma major Boehringer Ingelheim and US tech-based therapy firm Click Therapeutics have announced the launch of an expanded collaboration on a second prescription-based digital therapeutic (PDT). 20 December 2022
Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo today announced it has launched Ezharmia (valemetostat tosilate), a first-in-class dual inhibitor of EZH1 and EZH2, in Japan for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATLL). 20 December 2022
When in April this year US pharma giant Pfizer acquired ReViral for $525 million, along with its portfolio of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) therapeutic candidates, it did not include development and commercialization rights for ReViral lead candidate sisunatovir in China and certain other Asian markets, which China’s LianBio had already in-licensed in March 2021. 20 December 2022
Ireland-based cancer focused biopharma Carrick Therapeutics and family-owned Italian pharma Menarini have announced a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement. 20 December 2022
Switzerland-based Idorsia today announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for aprocitentan, the firm’s investigational, novel dual endothelin receptor antagonist, for the treatment of patients with difficult-to-control hypertension. 20 December 2022