Pharmaceutical Food and Drug Administration decisions of note last week included approval of AcelRx’ opioid analgesic Dsuvia but rejection of Trevena’s Olinovo (oliceridine) and also approval of Pfizer’s Lorbrena, which puts the company all along the continuum for ALK-positive lung cancer. On the political front, US mid-term elections resulted in a split Congress, which has implications for the pharma industry. Among deal-making news, it seems that Nektar has convinced another big pharma – Pfizer –on the promise of its cancer immunotherapy NKTR-214. 11 November 2018