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
Japanese pharma major Shionogi today announced that ensitrelvir fumaric acid (S-217622), Shionogi’s orally administered antiviral drug for COVID-19 (caused by infection with the novel coronavirus [SARS-CoV-2]), shows high in vitro antiviral activity against the Omicron subvariant (BA.2.75), with antiviral potency in pre-clinical testing similar to its potency against other existing variants. 10 August 2022
Belgian cell therapy company Bone Therapeutics is to acquire a majority stake in Medsenic, a privately-held French biopharma specializing in the development of optimized formulations of arsenic salts and their application in inflammatory conditions and other indications. 10 August 2022
The European Commission (EC) and US biotech Moderna have reached an agreement to address the demand for COVID-19 vaccines for the late summer and winter period. 10 August 2022
US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra yesterday took action that will allow the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner to grant emergency use authorizations (EUA) for monkeypox vaccines, following the August 4 declaration of a public health emergency for monkeypox. 10 August 2022
US biotech Novavax, which is dedicated to developing and commercializing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, has announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022. 10 August 2022
California, USA-based Appia Bio, a pre-clinical-stage biotechnology company today announced that Jason Damiano has been appointed as its chief scientific officer. 10 August 2022
Catalent announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Metrics Contract Services (Metrics), a full-service specialty Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) with a facility in Greenville, North Carolina, USA. 10 August 2022
Miami-based Veru has presented Phase III results on sabizabulin in hospitalized COVID-19 patients at high risk for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases. 9 August 2022
Cerevance, a British clinical-stage biotech working on new medicines for brain disorders, has inked a deal with Merck & Co, focused on Alzheimer’s disease. 9 August 2022
SIGA Technologies’ shares were up 6.8% at $23.67 mid-morning today, as it announced the exercise of procurement options under its 19C contract with the US Department of Health and Human Services for the delivery to the US government of intravenous (IV) formulation of TPOXX treatment courses valued at around $26 million. 9 August 2022
Late-breaking post-hoc exploratory results from the POSEIDON Phase III trial suggest a trend for improved overall survival (OS) with a limited course of five cycles of tremelimumab added to AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) plus platinum chemotherapy, in the first-line treatment of patients with STK11, KEAP1 or KRAS-mutated Stage IV (metastatic) non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC). 9 August 2022
A trial testing the use of cyclosporine in the treatment of COVID-19 has been stopped after independent data monitors decided it would likely fail. 9 August 2022
UK-based Verona Pharma pleased investors today, as it announced positive results from its Phase III ENHANCE-2 trial of ensifentrine for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), news of which sent the firm’s shares up more than 100% to $13.93 in pre-market trading. 9 August 2022
Chinese biotech BeiGene has announced that the global Phase III RATIONALE 301 trial with tislelizumab met its primary endpoint of non-inferior overall survival (OS) versus sorafenib as a first-line treatment in adults with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). 9 August 2022
US clinical-stage biotech Mersana Therapeutics saw its shares trading up 14.1% at $5.99 pre-market this morning, after it announced a global collaboration that provides UK pharma major GSK with an exclusive option to co-develop and commercialize XMT-2056, an Immunosynthen ADC that targets a novel epitope of HER2. 9 August 2022
French drugmaker Sanofi has paused recruitment for its global tolebrutinib Phase III trials following guidance from the independent data monitoring committee (iDMC), resulting in an almost 2% drop in its share price. 9 August 2022
Japanese drug major Chugai Pharmaceutical announced that, along with majority owner Roche and its biotech subsidiary Genentech (collectively “the companies”) have entered into a settlement agreement with Fresenius Kabi USA, on August 5, 2022 relating to the patent lawsuit filed by the companies on March 19, 2020. 9 August 2022
The outlook for a much-anticipated innovative treatment for Huntington’s disease has been muddied by a surprise serious side effect in a Phase I/II trial. 9 August 2022
German biotech company BioNTech was trading more than 10% lower on Monday afternoon in New York after announcing its latest financial results. 8 August 2022