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
Russian drugmaker and global pharma companies will significantly reduce the production of anti-COVID-19 vaccines, however the same plans are not considered in case of other drugs, according to recent statements by representatives of producers and some media, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 1 March 2022
South African biopharma Biovac has teamed up with a consortium of nine development partners to expand the firm’s vaccine manufacturing plant capacity, and enable the production of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 jab and other vaccines. 1 March 2022
US pharma major AbbVie has recently submitted a supplementary new drug application (sNDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration for Vraylar (cariprazine) as the adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). 1 March 2022
Legend Biotech, a clinical stage CAR-T immuno-oncology biotech spun out of Hong Kong-listed GenScript Biotech, says that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved its first product, Carvykti (ciltacabtagene autoleucel; cilta-cel). 1 March 2022
Shares of Ireland-headquartered rare diseased biotech Amryt Pharma fell as much as 31% yesterday, after it announced the receipt of a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the US Food and Drug Administration regarding its New Drug Application (NDA) for Oleogel-S10. 1 March 2022
Shares of Belgium biotech Celyad Oncology closed down 13.8% at 2.46 euros yesterday, after it announced it has taken the decision to voluntarily pause the CYAD-101-002 (KEYNOTE-B79) Phase Ib trial (NCT04991948). 1 March 2022
Are multinational pharmaceutical companies losing ground in India? The ongoing restructuring and overhaul taking place at several multinational drug companies based in India, including the sale of brands and the closing of non-core units, came up for discussion at a recent event, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent. 1 March 2022
Swiss company Vifor Pharma today announced the Swiss launch of Rayaldee (extended-release calcifediol), the first and only oral therapy approved in Europe for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT). 1 March 2022
US biotech Affinivax yesterday announced it has reacquired the exclusive worldwide rights to ASP3772, a novel vaccine candidate targeting Streptococcus pneumoniae, from Japanese pharma major Astellas Pharma. 1 March 2022
Further data has been presented on AstraZeneca and Amgen’s Tezspire (tezepelumab), which was recently approved in the USA for the add-on maintenance treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with severe asthma. 28 February 2022
Arbutus Biopharma’s shares were up 4.3% at $3.21 after, along with, Genevant Sciences, today filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Delaware against Moderna and one of its affiliates. 28 February 2022
In a European worksharing procedure (WSP), Germany’s Merck KGaA Glucophage (metformin hydrochloride) and its immediate and extended release versions have been approved as the first oral anti-diabetic medication to be used safely during pregnancy. 28 February 2022
US precision therapy company Blueprint Medicines’ shares dipped more than 2% to $61.62 early today, after it announced a strategic collaboration with Proteovant Therapeutics to advance novel targeted protein degrader therapies to address important areas of medical need. 28 February 2022
Meletios Therapeutics, a French biotechnology company formed in 2020, announced it has signed an exclusive license agreement with the Institut Pasteur for the development of a new class of antiviral treatments. 28 February 2022
Bold investments in BlueRock, AskBio and Vividion have shown the ambition of Bayer’s new approach towards R&D, and another sign of intent was the German company’s appointment of Christian Rommel in late 2020. 28 February 2022
South Korea’s GC Pharma saw its shares fall 6.2% to 182,000 won, after it revealed it has received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the US Food and Drug Administration in response to its Biologics License Application (BLA) for Alyglo (immune globulin intravenous (human), 10% liquid). 28 February 2022
Spanish plasma-derived medicines company Grifols has entered into a collaboration with Endpoint Health, a US precision-medicine therapeutics company dedicated to addressing urgent needs in immune-driven critical care, to develop and commercialize an antithrombin III (AT-III) therapy to treat sepsis. 28 February 2022
Brazil’s Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), through the Immunobiological Technology Institute (Biomanguinhos), provides the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine (recombinant) produced with the national Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API). 28 February 2022