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
Cratering shares in Cambridge, Massachusetts-based inflammatory disease company Third Harmonic Bio reflect a loss in confidence after a Phase I failure. 16 December 2022
Big pharma pairing AstraZeneca and Merck & Co announced a rare setback with their blockbuster PARP inhibitor Lynparza (olaparib) in prostate cancer on Thursday. 16 December 2022
Japan-based Sosei Group’s shares rose 8.4% to 2,222 yen today, as it announced it is collaborating with US pharma major Eli Lilly to discover, develop and commercialize small molecules that modulate novel G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets linked with diabetes and metabolic diseases. 16 December 2022
Announcing further plans to accelerate and broaden the clinical development of its cancer immunotherapy pipeline in the Asia-Pacific region, Germany’s BioNTech said that the first regional clinical trial sites for the company’s mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies are planned to be activated in Taiwan to initially evaluate BioNTech’s cancer product candidate BNT113 against head and neck cancer. 16 December 2022
Positive results from the Phase III GLOW trial could pave the way for a new kind of cancer treatment, an antibody targeting the Claudin-18.2 protein. 16 December 2022
Of the 20 drugs currently being developed for primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), three are now in Phase III development, offering hope to the patients, who have very few treatment options in comparison to patients affected by relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). 16 December 2022
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has warned UK lawmakers that an existing pricing agreement is unsustainable, and that the cost of agreed rebates are too high. 15 December 2022
Privately held US clinical-stage biotech Cybrexa Therapeutics today announced the appointment of Michael Needle as chief medical officer. 15 December 2022
The European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Livmarli (maralixibat) oral solution for the treatment of cholestatic pruritus in patients with Alagille syndrome (ALGS) aged two months and older. 15 December 2022
Pennsylvania, USA-based CNS specialist Vallon Pharmaceuticals’ stock price soared an initial 230% to $0.85, after the company unveiled plans to merge its operations with privately-held biotech GRI Bio in an all-stock transaction. 15 December 2022
Adding to a string of approved indications for the interleukin (IL) and IL-4 blocking antibody, the European Commission (EC) has expanded the marketing authorization for Dupixent (dupilumab) in the European Union to treat adults with moderate-to-severe prurigo nodularis who are candidates for systemic therapy. 15 December 2022
A Danish company developing a vaccine against group B streptococcus (GBS) - an infection often known as Strep B - has 72 million ($77 million) euros more to spend. 15 December 2022
A novel targeted protein degradation (TPD) candidate from Kymera Therapeutics is to be advanced by its research and development partner, Sanofi. 15 December 2022
US eyecare pharma company Harrow Health’s shares jumped 15% to $12.77 after it announced a binding agreement for the acquisition of the exclusive US commercial rights to five Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ophthalmic products from Swiss pharma giant Novartis 15 December 2022
Prices for a wide range of drugs in the Russian pharmaceutical retail sector are steadily growing due to a significant reduction of their supplies and disappearance from retail shelves. 15 December 2022
The Russian government together with some leading domestic financial corporations will provide support to domestic producers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that will primarily be in the form of provision of preferential loans and other benefits for them, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 15 December 2022
As the year draws to a close, this article presents some of the wins of the orphan drug community in terms of US FDA approvals, while highlighting challenges faced by the sector and looking ahead to the expectations of the next year. 15 December 2022