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
As well as several novel drug recommendations at its April meeting, the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) backed the extension of therapeutic indications for seven already marketed medicines. 23 April 2022
The European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee (CHMP) recommended four medicines for approval in the European Union (EU) at its April 2022 meeting. 23 April 2022
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday made a strong recommendation for nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, sold under the trade name Paxlovid, for mild and moderate COVID-19 patients at highest risk of hospital admission, calling it the best therapeutic choice for high-risk patients to date. 23 April 2022
Rare diseases powerhouse Alexion was last year acquired for $39 billion by the Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca, becoming part of one of big pharma’s most successful companies in recent years. 22 April 2022
Japan’s Sumitomo Pharma, formerly known as Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, says it has decided to construct a cGMP-compliant cell processing center (CPC) in the USA. 22 April 2022
Japanese drug major Shionogi has presented results from the Japanese Phase II/III clinical trial of S-268019, a recombinant protein-based vaccine for COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), at the 96th Meeting of the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. 22 April 2022
German drugmaker STADA Arzneimittel will from June add to its team by welcoming Dr Christine Berndt as head of global development Specialties/Biosimilars. 22 April 2022
Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma has announced that it will book an impairment loss in both the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended on March 31, and in the subsequent quarter. 22 April 2022
Shares of Ampio Pharmaceuticals closed down 27% at $0.25 yesterday, as the US biopharma company announced the receipt of written responses from the US Food and Drug Administration regarding the AP-013 trial results, suggesting it will likely need to perform a further Phase III study. 22 April 2022
Illinois, USA-based Long Grove Pharmaceuticals, founded in 2019 by strategic health care investor Water Street Healthcare Partners, will begin shipping its first products in mid-2022. 22 April 2022
Research from industry analyst GlobalData has highlighted the limited impact that Western sanctions have had on foreign innovator drugs in Russia. 22 April 2022
US biotech Terran Biosciences, which is focussed on therapeutics for neurological and psychiatric diseases, has entered into an agreement with French pharma major Sanofi for worldwide exclusive rights to develop and commercialize two late-stage CNS pipeline assets. 22 April 2022
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on lives and economies, as well as the cost of healthcare, though benefiting the drugmakers that have pushed through new products to deal with the situation at record speed. 21 April 2022
Privately-held Italian drugmaker Zambo today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to colistimethate sodium powder for nebulization solution (CMS I-neb) for the reduction in the incidence of pulmonary exacerbations in adult patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) colonized with P. aeruginosa. 21 April 2022
US neurotology company Otonomy closed 6% higher on Wednesday after presenting positive top-line results from the Phase IIa clinical trial of OTO-413 in subjects with hearing loss. 21 April 2022
Top-line data for an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine from Arcturus Therapeutics have failed to impress investors, with the firm reporting 55% efficacy in the prevention of symptomatic disease. 21 April 2022
Results from a pooled analysis of Rezurock (belumosudil) for the treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) show certain organ clinical responses correlated with clinically-meaningful changes in patient-reported outcomes (PROs). 21 April 2022
The New England Journal of Medicine has published detailed results from the PROVENT Phase III study of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus antibody therapy Evusheld (tixagevimab/cilgavimab). 21 April 2022
US biotech firm Tessera Therapeutics, which is pioneering a new approach in genetic medicine known as GENE WRITING technology, has raised over $300 million in Series C financing. 21 April 2022