Australia’s Turnbull government will invest more than A$630 million ($443.7 million) to support Australia’s world-leading researchers to find the next prevention of disease or cure as it continues to drive innovation in Australia, Minister for Health Sussan Ley announced today. 9 November 2015
The Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee of the US Food and Drug Administration on Friday discussed pharma giant Merck & Co’s Bridion (sugammadex). 7 November 2015
The restructuring program announced by Danish CNS specialist drugmaker Lundbeck in August 2015 is progressing as planned and is still expected to reduce the cost base by around 3 billion ($444.4 million) in 2017, the company said this morning. 4 November 2015
Chinese companies are joining multinationals like Novartis and Eli Lilly to develop novel drugs for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent, Wang Fangqing. 4 November 2015
Labels for the prescription antipsychotic drugs Abilify and Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) have been updated to advise of an increased risk of impulsive behaviors of pathological gambling and hypersexuality, said pharma regulatory agency Health Canada on Monday. 3 November 2015
Australia’s Turnbull government says it will address inconsistencies in the nation’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) that see many concessional patients with a prescription for common medicines such as paracetamol and aspirin paying higher prices than if they simply purchased them over the counter. 3 November 2015
Following a public comment period, the US Federal Trade Commission has approved final orders settling charges that pharmaceutical companies Concordia Pharmaceuticals and Par Pharmaceutical entered into an unlawful agreement not to compete in the sale of generic versions of Kapvay, a prescription drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. 2 November 2015
A US Food and Drug Administration safety review has found no clear evidence of an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, or other cardiovascular events associated with the use of entacapone for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. 27 October 2015
French drugmaker Ipsen and US company EpiVax have completed a collaborative project on next generation botulinium neurotoxin (BoNT) and targeted secretion inhibitor (TSI) therapeutics. 27 October 2015
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Belbuca (buprenorphine) buccal film, from Endo International and BioDelivery Sciences International. 26 October 2015
Privately-held US drug discovery firm Reviva Pharmaceuticals has presented new positive preclinical efficacy data for memory deficits at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Chicago. 23 October 2015
A new investment fund, the Dementia Discovery Fund, has been launched and managed by venture capital firm SV Life Sciences, after raising $100 million from investors throughout the industry. 22 October 2015
US biotech company Biogen has reported negative data from the Phase III trial of natalizumab in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. 21 October 2015
Luc Therapeutics, until recently known as Mnemosyne, has entered into an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Swiss pharma giant Novartis. 21 October 2015
Study data shows that Tasigna (nilotinib) from Novartis can improve cognition, motor skills and non-motor function in Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. 20 October 2015
New Zealand’s Pharmaceutical Management Agency PHARMAC is seeking feedback on proposals to list two new treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) and to make amendments to the Special Authority criteria relating to magnetic resonance imaging MRI requirements for all MS treatments. 19 October 2015
The Australian government has committed A$40 million ($29 million) to 76 early career researchers working to find a cure and therapies for dementia. 19 October 2015
PTC Therapeutics has announced disappointing results from the Phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 48-week ACT DMD trial of Translarna (ataluren), an oral, first-in-class, protein restoration therapy for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD). 16 October 2015
In final draft guidance issued today, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the medicines watchdog for England and Wales, has recommended Danish CNS specialist Lundbeck’s Brintellix (vortioxetine) for some adults with major depressive disorder 16 October 2015
Supernus Pharmaceutical’s has entered into a settlement agreement with privately-held generics firm Par Pharmaceutical involving the ongoing patent litigation regarding Trokendi XR. 16 October 2015
Today, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Miplyffa (arimoclomol), an oral medication for the treatment of Neimann-Pick disease, type C (NPC). 20 September 2024
US neuroscience company BioXcel Therapeutics has announced a new clinical prioritization and an update on its late-stage development programs for the treatment of agitation with BXCL501. 20 September 2024
Stalicla, a privately-held Swiss biotech, today announced that Dr Paulo Fontoura will be joining its drug development team as chief scientific and clinical development advisor. 19 September 2024
US clinical stage CNS drug developer Athira Pharma is taking decisive action following the company’s announcement of disappointing data from the Phase II/III LIFT-AD clinical trial of fosgonimeton to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD). 18 September 2024
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Ocrevus Zunovo (ocrelizumab and hyaluronidase-ocsq) for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), from Swiss pharma giant Roche. 16 September 2024
US pharma major Eli Lilly has announced a $1 billion expansion of its manufacturing site in Limerick, Ireland, to increase production of biologic active ingredients, including those for its recently approved treatment for early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease. 13 September 2024
US neurological diseases specialist Ovid Therapeutics has announced the promotion of Meg Alexander to president and chief operating officer (COO). 12 September 2024
The global migraine market in mature economies is projected to grow from $9.2 billion in 2023 to $16.4 billion by 2033, according to a report from GlobalData. 10 September 2024
Cartesian Therapeutics today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Rare Pediatric Disease designation to Descartes-08 for the treatment of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). 9 September 2024
California’s Lykos Therapeutics is still trying to regroup after being rocked by the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) rejection of midomafetamine (MDMA) capsules for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 6 September 2024
The cost of prescribed dependency-forming medicines has decreased by £410 million ($539.6 million) since 2015/16, according to newly released data from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). 6 September 2024
Shares in US biopharma Axsome Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing and delivering novel therapies for the management of CNS disorders, closed 7% higher on Wednesday. 5 September 2024
Mid-Atlantic BioTherapeutics (MABT) has announced a collaboration with Accelero Biostructures to identify novel inhibitors of USP30, a protein linked to neurological disorders and other conditions. 5 September 2024
Praxis Precision Medicines shared positive top-line results for its Phase II, proof of concept study evaluating relutrigine in SCN2A and SCN8A developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) patients. 4 September 2024