Look back at pharma news in the week to April 17, 2020

By Barbara Obstoj-Cardwell. Editor

Among last week’s news of note, Alnylam seems to have had a windfall in terms of a deal with Blackstone that, in exchange for royalty rights on inclisiran, a potential treatment for heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, it will get $2 billion funding. On the regulatory front, AstraZeneca gained US Food and Drug Administration approval for its rare disease drug Koselugo (selumetinib). Standing out among a significant amount of novel coronavirus news, was the planned collaboration of two ‘Big Pharmas’ – GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi – to work on a potential COVID-19 vaccine. Also, although reports from Chinese trials on Gilead Sciences’ candidate remdesivir were disappointing, the company’s own studies, which have yet to report officially, anecdotally, show more promise.

Inclisiran keeps on giving