Look back at pharma news in the week to February 14, 2020

Last week’s news included further disappointment for the Alzheimer’s community, with Eli Lilly’s solanezumab and Roche’s gantenerumab failing in their latest trials. There was also disappointment for Biohaven Pharmaceuticals’ troriluzole for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). On a more positive note, US biotech Moderna Therapeutics saw a sharp rise it its market cap after it announced a positive development for its coronavirus vaccine. Regulatory news included US Food and Drug Administration acceptance for priority review of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s immune-oncology candidate lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel). Also, Japan’s Eisai was obliged to withdraw its weight-loss drug Belviq from the US market.

Another Alzheimer’s failure for Biogen bulls to shrug off

Wonder whether Biogen’s resurrection of aducanumab has stoked unrealistic hopes for Alzheimer’s disease progress? asks Amy Brown on Vantage, the editorial arm of the Evaluate group. Look no further than Eli Lilly’s shares, which opened 4% down last Monday morning on the failure of the Dian-Tu study with solanezumab and gantenerumab, an ambitious trial handicapped by a very small sample size.