7 January 2025 Unquestionably, US drugmaker Vertex Pharmaceuticals is the dominant drug developer in the cystic fibrosis (CF) space.
How has the company achieved this — on the R&D and patient access side — and what is the company doing to help the remaining patients? Vertex’s Andrew Wilfin, Senior Country Medical Director, UK and Ireland, took part in a Q&A with The Pharma Letter to reveal all.
US biopharma company Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has announced the US commercial launch of Agamree (vamorolone) oral suspension for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in patients aged two years and older. 14 March 2024
Just a couple of months after launching its direct-to-consumer pharmacy service, Eli Lilly has announced plans to ramp things up significantly. 14 March 2024
US health technology assessor the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) released a Final Evidence Report assessing the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of Novartis’ iptacopan and AstraZeneca subsidiary Alexion’s danicopan for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). 14 March 2024
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Livmarli (maralixibat) oral solution for the treatment of cholestatic pruritus in patients five years of age and older with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC). 14 March 2024
Swedish exports of pharmaceuticals reached a peak of 152.2 billion kronor (~$15 billion), which corresponds to 7.3% of the country’s total export value, and means an almost 10% p increase since 2022. 14 March 2024
Two privately-held American firms, Allumiqs and Prolytix, have announced a long-term, strategic partnership focused on: “optimizing drug development pipelines.” 13 March 2024
Pfizer has won European Commission (EC) approval for Prevenar 20 for the prevention of invasive disease, pneumonia and acute otitis media caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in children aged from six weeks to less than 18 years. 13 March 2024
Following discussions with the US regulator, Texan drugmaker Lexicon Pharmaceuticals now plans to resubmit a New Drug Application (NDA) for sotagliflozin. 12 March 2024
New Zealander Guy Oliver has left his role as Ipsen’s general manager for the UK and Ireland, to take up the same position at Bristol Myers Squibb. 12 March 2024
Swiss drugmaker Basilea Pharmaceutica announced yesterday that the continued strong sales performance of the antifungal Cresemba (isavuconazole) by its license partner Pfizer in the Asia Pacific region and China exceeded the sales threshold triggering a $1.25 million milestone payment. 12 March 2024
Shares in San Diego, USA-based Acadia Pharmaceuticals fell around 20% ahead of the opening bell on Tuesday, following poor results from the ADVANCE-2 trial. 12 March 2024
USA-based Viatris said in a website posting that it has been informed by its partner, Israel-based Mapi Pharma, that it has received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) regarding the New Drug Application (NDA) for GA Depot 40mg from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 12 March 2024
Danish firm Novo Nordisk has announced positive results from the kidney outcomes trial FLOW, in which Ozempic (semaglutide) 1mg reduced the risk of kidney disease progression and the risk of kidney and cardiovascular deaths by 24%. 12 March 2024
A final report for KarXT (xanomeline tartrate/trospium chloride) has been published by influential US pricing watchdog The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). 12 March 2024
India's Department of Pharmaceuticals introduced the Revamped Pharmaceuticals Technology Upgradation Assistance Scheme aimed at enhancing the technological prowess of the country's pharmaceutical sector to meet global standards. 12 March 2024
Insilico Medicine, a biotechnology firm specializing in artificial intelligence-powered drug discovery, has raised over $100 million in a series E funding round. 8 January 2025
Calico Life Sciences, a biotech founded by Alphabet and Arthur Levinson focused on the biology of aging and age-related diseases, has announced a setback. 8 January 2025
Denmark’s Novo Nordisk and Valo Health today announced they have entered into an expanded agreement to discover and develop novel treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease based on Valo’s extensive human dataset and computation powered by artificial intelligence (AI). 8 January 2025
Antag Therapeutics, a Denmark-based biopharma developing novel treatments for obesity, has announced the appointment of Joerg Moeller as chief executive officer, effective immediately. 8 January 2025
Metsera today announced positive data from a 12-week Phase IIa clinical trial of MET-097i, its potential once-monthly, ultra-long acting, subcutaneously injectable, fully-biased, GLP-1 receptor agonist (RA). 7 January 2025
Central nervous system (CNS) specialist Neuraxpharm Group has acquired Provigil (modafinil) and Nuvigil (armodafinil), both of which are indicated for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in adults with narcolepsy. 7 January 2025
Japan-based FUSO Pharmaceutical Industries and Australia’s Dimerix Limited have entered into an exclusive development and license agreement for the development and commercialization of Dimerix’ Phase III drug candidate DMX-200 for the treatment of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) kidney disease in Japan. 7 January 2025
The heart failure market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.6% over the next decade, increasing from $13.5 billion in 2022 to $33.7 billion in 2032 across seven major markets, according to a report from analytics firm GlobalData. 7 January 2025
A late-stage trial failure has dented Denali Therapeutics stock, with an announcement Monday revealing the HEALEY ALS study missed all endpoints. 7 January 2025
Unquestionably, US drugmaker Vertex Pharmaceuticals is the dominant drug developer in the cystic fibrosis (CF) space.
How has the company achieved this — on the R&D and patient access side — and what is the company doing to help the remaining patients? Vertex’s Andrew Wilfin, Senior Country Medical Director, UK and Ireland, took part in a Q&A with The Pharma Letter to reveal all. 7 January 2025
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance to provide recommendations on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) intended to support a regulatory decision about a drug or biological product’s safety, effectiveness or quality. 7 January 2025
Sentynl Therapeutics, wholly owned by Zydus Lifesciences, has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has accepted its New Drug Application for CUTX-101, a potential first treatment for Menkes disease. The application has been granted priority review, with a target action date set for June 30, 2025. 7 January 2025
rug Administration (FDA) approved an update to the US Prescribing Information (USPI) for Pyrukynd (mitapivat) for the treatment of hemolytic anemia in adults with pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency, Agios Pharmaceutical revealed in a Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) notice. 7 January 2025
Patrick Branch, head of Japan and APAC business development at Nxera Pharma,
Japan’s most innovative and nimble biopharma company, provides a summary of the year in the important eastern market. 6 January 2025
Immedica Pharma, a Swedish company specializing in rare diseases, has announced its acquisition of Marinus Pharmaceuticals in a deal valued at $151 million. The agreement, finalized through a cash tender offer, marks a significant expansion of Immedica’s presence in the US market. 6 January 2025
Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca has announced that new, positive, long-term results from the pivotal ALPHA Phase III trial have appeared in the journal Blood, which is published by the American Society of Hematology. 6 January 2025
Alon Natanson, a business leader and alumnus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has been appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of Yissum, the Israeli Hebrew University Tech Transfer company. 6 January 2025
Japanese drugmaker Otsuka Pharmaceutical has announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted for review the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for the hereditary angioedema(HAE) drug candidate donidalorsen. 6 January 2025