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
In recent weeks, stellar results from Merck & Co and from Pfizer have elevated expectations for the potential of antivirals to treat coronavirus disease. 17 November 2021
China’s biotech industry enjoyed significant growth in the past several years, but major bottlenecks are looming as Chinese biotechs aims for a global expansion, said speakers at the two-day event Chinatrials on November 11 in Shanghai. 17 November 2021
US pharma giant Pfizer said yesterday it is seeking Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of its investigational oral antiviral candidate, Paxlovid (PF-07321332; ritonavir), for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients at increased risk of hospitalizations or death. 17 November 2021
US biotech Biogen surprised industry watchers, with the announcement that Alfred (Al) Sandrock Jr, head of research and development, will retire from the company effective December 31, 2021. 17 November 2021
More than 20,000 strokes and 5,000 deaths could be averted after NHS England struck new agreements to expand life-saving blood thinning drugs, chief executive Amanda Pritchard announced yesterday. 17 November 2021
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) regularly calls out drugmakers in certain therapy areas for introducing drugs to the market at prices that exceed its estimates of what they are worth. 16 November 2021
US pharma giant Pfizer has had enormous success with its COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty, developed and marketed with Germany’s BioNTech, and is now turning to its oral antiviral to treat the coronavirus infection, Paxlovid (ritonavir), for which it released stunning trial results last week. 16 November 2021
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, many drugmakers saw major share price declines as investors got to grips with the likely impact on prescribing, developing medicines, and supply chain interruptions. 16 November 2021
Czech immuno-oncology company SOTIO Biotech, which is owned by PPF Group, today announced an exclusive, target-specific license and option agreement with South Korean biotech LegoChem Biosciences, a company focused on developing its clinical-stage platform technology enabling antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). 16 November 2021
While injectable PCSK9 inhibitors have long promised an effective way to lower LDL cholesterol levels, relatively low uptake has been blamed on high prices and a burdensome mode of administration. 16 November 2021
The neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) therapeutics market is highly genericized, with corticosteroids and immunosuppressants currently accounting for the highest portion of prescribed drugs in China. 16 November 2021
US DNA synthesis firm Twist Bioscience has launched Revelar Biotherapeutics, an independently operated, new biotechnology company to develop and commercialize an antibody, discovered and optimized by its Twist Biopharma division, that neutralizes all known variants of concern of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in pre-clinical studies. 16 November 2021
The Russian drugmaker R-Pharm plans to produce Sputnik V vaccine in the European Union and has received a three-year loan of 50 million ($57 million) to expand the company's production in Illertissen, Germany. 16 November 2021
German pharma and life sciences firm Merck KGaA and the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium today announced that the pivotal Phase III trial for arpraziquantel, a potential new treatment option for the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis, has met the primary endpoint of clinical cure in children three months to six years of age. 16 November 2021
Dutch fatty acid expert NorthSea Therapeutics has presented positive interim data from a Phase IIb study of its non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) candidate, icosabutate. 16 November 2021
German drugmaker STADA Arzneimittel plans to continue an active development in the Russian pharmaceutical market in the coming years, considering it as one of the most promising for its further growth, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 16 November 2021
A set of guidelines that will provide a well-defined framework and guiding principle to facilitate sharing of biological information and data generated by research groups in India has been released by the government. 16 November 2021
Australian off-the-shelf cell therapy specialist Mesoblast saw its shares gain nearly 12% to A$1.90 today, as it released positive new results from the landmark Phase III study of rexlemestrocel-L in 565 patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). 15 November 2021