Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca’s biologics R&D subsidiary MedImmune has entered into a licensing agreement with Omnis Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held US biotech firm focused on the development of oncolytic viruses. 15 January 2015
Privately-held, UK-based Oxford BioTherapeutics says that German family-owned pharma major Boehringer Ingelheim has exercised an option to receive exclusive rights to an oncology target from an ongoing discovery collaboration. 14 January 2015
US cancer metabolism specialist Agios Pharmaceuticals says that biotech major Celgene will exercise its option to obtain an exclusive license outside the USA for AG-120, a first-in-class, oral, potent inhibitor of the mutant IDH1 protein under the terms of the 2010 collaboration agreement. 14 January 2015
German family-owned pharma major Boehringer Ingelheim has entered into a collaboration with Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, with the goal of researching novel therapeutic targets in the field of immune-modulation. 14 January 2015
Privately-held US biotech company Mersana Therapeutics has expanded its ongoing collaboration with Japan’s largest drugmaker, Takeda Pharmaceutical, to create novel Fleximer antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) drug candidates to include additional oncology-relevant targets. 13 January 2015
US biotech major Amgen is to collaborate with the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas on Amgen’s T bispecific T cell engager antibody constructs (BiTE). 13 January 2015
US pharma giant Merck & Co has reported on the ongoing execution of its multi-year, strategic initiative to sharpen its commercial and research and development focus, redesign its operating model and reduce its cost base at the 33rd Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. 13 January 2015
The therapeutics market is buzzing with activity, as several promising therapies are progressing to Phase III clinical trials and many more are awaiting commercial launches. 13 January 2015
England’s health care cost watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued final draft guidance not recommending US biotech firm Dendreon’s Provenge (sipuleucel-T) for prostate cancer in people whose disease has spread, who have few symptoms and whose disease is not yet suitable for treatment with chemotherapy. 13 January 2015
As has been widely expected and already much criticized, England’s over-stretched Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) has decided to stop the funding of certain oncology treatments but, at the same time, announced its budget would be increased. 13 January 2015
Russia's Nanolek has officially commissioned a new facility for the production of drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular, cancer and infectious diseases. 12 January 2015
Privately-held Swiss cancer specialist Helsinn Group say it has entered into a settlement agreement with Sandoz Inc to resolve their patent litigations relating to Helsinn’s Aloxi (palonosetron HCl injection) in the USA. 12 January 2015
US pharma major Bristol-Myers Squibb says that an open-label, randomized Phase III study evaluating Opdivo (nivolumab) versus docetaxel in previously treated patients with advanced, squamous cell non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been stopped on positive results. 12 January 2015
Chinese biotech firm Chipscreen Biosciences has received regulatory approval of Epidaza (chidamide), the world first orally-administrated and subtype-selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor for relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) patients, from the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). 12 January 2015
US pharma giant Pfizer says it has been advised by the Food and Drug Administration that at this time there is no plan for an Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting for Ibrance (palbociclib). 9 January 2015
UK-based GW Pharmaceuticals and Japanese drugmaker Otsuka have reported that Sativex (nabiximols) did not meet the primary endpoint in the treatment of pain in patients with advanced cancer who experience inadequate analgesia during optimized chronic opioid therapy. 9 January 2015
The US Food and Drug Administration Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC), in a unanimous vote, recommended approval of Swiss pharma giant Novartis’ generics subsidiary Sandoz’ investigational biosimilar filgrastim chemotherapy in the USA. 8 January 2015
Shares of Japanese mid-size drugmaker Kyowa Hakko Kirin rose 3.55% to 1,138 yen by afternoon trading in Japan, after the company revealed that it has entered into a license agreement with the USA’s privately held Syndax Pharmaceuticals for the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize entinostat in Japan and South Korea. 8 January 2015
England’s Cancer Drugs Fund is overspent and 42 drugs are being reassessed as price caps are brought in for the first time. NHS England said the current system was unsustainable and that there were new drugs "that will do more for patients." 8 January 2015
In what Astella Pharma calls “a landmark decision for advanced bladder cancer patients,” the Japanese drugmaker gained approval in the UK for its treatment regimen. 10 October 2024
Pfizer released positive top line results from the final prespecified overall survival (OS) analysis of the TALAPRO-2 study of Talzenna (talazoparib), an oral poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, in combination with Xtandi (enzalutamide). 10 October 2024
US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson’s Tecvayli (teclistamab) has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a first-line option to treat myeloma in England and Wales. 10 October 2024
Cancer start-up Black Diamond Therapeutics has announced a significant restructuring as part of its plan to focus resources on its lead drug, BDTX-1535. 10 October 2024
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted for review the Marketing Authorization Applications for AVT03, a proposed biosimilar candidate to the Prolia and Xgeva (denosumab), submitted by Germany’s STADA Arzneimittel. 10 October 2024
China’s Quantum Pharmaceuticals has announced a significant licensing agreement between its biologics-focused subsidiary, Ailux Biologics, and Johnson & Johnson. 10 October 2024
Advances in gene editing, such as the FDA approval of Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel) in December 2023 for the treatment of beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease, have fueled significant interest in innovative epigenetic drugs. 10 October 2024
German family-owned pharma major Boehringer Ingelheim and USA-based Circle Pharma (have entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with the shared goal to develop a first-in-class cyclin inhibitor that can halt the growth of cancer cells potentially offering hope to those living with hard-to-treat cancers. 9 October 2024
Bayer has entered into a collaboration with MOMA Therapeutics to develop a small molecule oncology program using the latter’s proprietary KNOMATIC platform. 9 October 2024
Genor Biopharma has announced plans for a significant merger with Edding Group, marking one of the first reverse takeovers involving a Hong Kong-listed biopharma company. 8 October 2024
China-headquartered clinical-stage biotech MediLink Therapeutics has announced a global clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with US major Amgen. 8 October 2024
Germany’s Eckert & Ziegler, a specialist in radioisotopes for medical, scientific and industrial applications, has announced a global clinical supply agreement with GlyTherix, an Australian targeted radiotherapy firm specializing in developing antibody radiopharmaceuticals for solid tumors. 8 October 2024
US clinical-stage biotech OnKure Therapeutics has announced the completion of its previously announced merger with Reneo Pharmaceuticals. 8 October 2024
Daejeon-based Orum Therapeutics, a specialist in degrader-antibody conjugates (DAC), has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on South Korea's Kosdaq market. 7 October 2024
Mosaic Therapeutics, a UK-based oncology therapeutics company dedicated to resolving cancer’s complexity to power new combination therapies for patients, has announced the appointment of Barry Davies as chief scientific officer. 7 October 2024