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
All signs point to an M&A boom in late 2021 and throughout 2022. In this episode, Lance Minor, principal and national co-leader of the life sciences practice at BDO, provides valuable insight into current and emerging trends in the biotech investing landscape. 1 September 2021
Shares of Futura Medical moved higher yesterday, as it announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with m8 Pharmaceuticals, a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on commercialization in Latin America, for the rights to exclusively develop and commercialize the company's topical, gel-based erectile dysfunction (ED) treatment MED3000, in Brazil and Mexico. 1 September 2021
Dutch drugmaker Centrient Pharmaceuticals, an antibiotics manufacturer wholly-owned by Bain Capital, has acquired Vadodara, India-based Astral SteriTech, a manufacturer in sterile antibiotic injectable finished dosage forms. 1 September 2021
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and its partner MedinCell have announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for TV-46000/mdc-IRM (risperidone extended-release injectable suspension for subcutaneous use) for schizophrenia has been accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 1 September 2021
Japanese pharma major Astellas Pharma has voluntarily paused screening and dosing of additional participants in its ASPIRO clinical trial evaluating AT132 in patients with X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM). 1 September 2021
Swiss pharma giant Novartis has reached a commercial agreement with the National Health Service (NHS) in England as part of a collaboration to pioneer a first-of-its-kind population health management approach to address elevated "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol in eligible patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) across England. 1 September 2021
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially endorsed the recommendation for use of tozinameran, the coronavirus vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech. 31 August 2021
Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical arm, Janssen, has announced results from a post-hoc pooled analysis of the Phase III GRIPHON and Phase IIIb TRITON studies. 31 August 2021
Shares in AC Immune were up on Tuesday, after the firm announced encouraging results from a Phase II trial of its Alzheimer’s disease (AD) candidate. 31 August 2021
Chinese biopharma firm Innovent Biologics and US biotech Bolt Biotherapeutics have announced a drug research and development collaboration to develop three new anti-cancer therapeutic immune-stimulating antibody conjugate (ISAC) candidates. 31 August 2021
Japanese pharma major Eisai has concluded a license agreement concerning dotinurad, a treatment for hyperuricemia and gout discovered by Fuji Yakuhin, for development and distribution in five ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand. 31 August 2021
Russia again faces a shortage of foreign drugs for the treatment of serious diseases, this time for the treatment arthritis, according to recent statements by representatives of local patent associations and some local media, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 31 August 2021
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has licensed Evrenzo (roxadustat) for the treatment of adult patients with symptomatic anemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). 31 August 2021
Daiichi Sankyo has concluded an agreement on commercialization collaboration in Japan with the local subsidiary of US pharma major Eli Lilly for the 5-HT1F receptor agonist lasmiditan succinate, for which Eli Lilly Japan has submitted a new drug application for the treatment of migraines. 31 August 2021
These are billed as being exciting times for cell and gene therapies, but seasoned observers of the pharmaceutical industry would be forgiven for taking that billing with a pinch of salt. 31 August 2021
A raft of measures adopted by the US government to enhance the availability of drugs are impacting the margins of Indian companies. While several Indian drugmakers have witnessed a decline in their US generic business on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and year-on-year (YoY) basis, few companies have taken inventory write-offs and also tried to liquidate the high inventory carried by them in the US market, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent. 31 August 2021
A huge patent opportunity is supporting the Indian pharmaceutical sector, as several older and once lucrative drugs are losing their patent, presenting a $240 billion opportunity over the next five-six years until 2026. 31 August 2021
The protection of intellectual property (IP) rights currently remains one of the most pressing problems for global drugmakers operating in the Russian market, according to recent statements by Oksana Monzh, general director of French pharma major Sanofi in the Eurasian Region and representatives of other producers. 31 August 2021