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
Russia has faced with the shortage of oncology drug Uromitexan (mercapto ethane sulphonacid; mesna), for which last deliveries to the country were in the spring of 2023, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 15 May 2024
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in biopharma have rebounded with a $76.9 billion increase in total deal value seen from 2022 to 2023, according to GlobalData. 14 May 2024
Precision oncology platform company Tavros Therapeutics has achieved two milestone payments in its collaboration with the Bayer subsidiary Vividion Therapeutics. 14 May 2024
The Russian Ministry of Health has registered domestic generic of Spinraza (nusinersen), an expensive drug used for the treatment of all types of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in children and adults, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 14 May 2024
With the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) now only weeks away, more drugmakers and research groups are lifting the lid on data they intend to present at the event. 14 May 2024
Chinese biopharma company Everest Medicines announced that Nefecon, a delayed release capsule of budesonide, has been successfully launched in China with the first prescription issued. 14 May 2024
A new study by diabetes awareness website Diabetes Strong reveals that “How to get Ozempic” is the most googled question about the medication. 14 May 2024
California, USA-based rare disease company Reneo Pharmaceuticals saw its shares fall 12.2% to $1.59 yesterday, when it announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with privately-held OnKure to combine the companies in an all-stock transaction. 14 May 2024
French pharma major Sanofi has announced an investment of more than 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) to create new bioproduction capacity at its sites in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val de Marne), Le Trait (Seine-Maritime) and Lyon Gerland (Rhône). 14 May 2024
Diversified German drugmaker Bayer has reported group sales of 13.8 billion euros ($14.9 billion) for the first quarter of 2024, a fall of around 0.6%, meeting expectations. 14 May 2024
At a cool $1 billion, the venture round secured by AI group Xaira ranks as the second-biggest raise in biotech history. In the drug discovery space, this financing is dwarfed only by Altos Lab’s $3 billion, amassed back in 2021. 14 May 2024
German family-owned pharma major Boehringer Ingelheim has entered into an agreement with Quallent Pharmaceuticals, a private label pharmaceutical distributor, to help expand patient access to citrate-free adalimumab-adbm, Boehringer's biosimilar to AbbVie’s Humira (adalimumab), in the USA. 14 May 2024
Oncology companies including New York-based giant Pfizer and Japan’s Astellas Pharma have outlined details of data they intend to present at the USA’s leading cancer conference. 13 May 2024
US drugmaker AbbVie has become one of the first big pharma companies to place a major bet on neuroplastogens for the treatment of mental health problems. 13 May 2024
US rare diseases focused biotech Fulcrum Therapeutics has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with French pharma major Sanofi for the development and commercialization of losmapimod. 13 May 2024
USA-based biotech Ajax Therapeutics today announced the completion of an oversubscribed $95 million Series C financing, led by Goldman Sachs with participation from new investors, including Eli Lilly. 13 May 2024