Look back at pharma news in the week to May 31

By Barbara Obstoj-Cardwell. Editor

Regulatory decisions last week including good news for Novartis and not so good for Newron Pharmaceuticals. For the Swiss pharma giant, the US Food and Drug Administration granted approval for its spinal muscular atrophy drug Zolgensma (SMA), but it also comes with a hefty price tag of over $2 million. Italy’s Newron had a set back with the FDA delaying studies of its schizophrenia candidate evenamide. On the price front, the UK’s cost-effectiveness body the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) gave its backing for Merck & Co’s Prevymis for the treatment on cytomegalovirus. Executive shuffles last week included Gilead Sciences naming a new chief commercial officer, nabbing a Bristol-Myers Squibb exec for the role.

Historic day in drug development, as AveXis/Novartis therapy for SMA approved