Look back at pharma news in the week to September 11, 2020

13 September 2020

By Barbara Obstoj-Cardwell. Editor

Last Friday Blueprint Medicines and partner Genentech, a Roche subsidiary, gained US Food and Drug Administration approval for their lung cancer candidate Gavreto (pralsetinib). On the research front, Merck & Co released new data on a Phase III trial of its unexplained chronic cough drug gefapixant. Also of note, last Tuesday AstraZeneca announced a pause on all global clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed with Oxford University, because of one serious side effect in a UK trial participant. This resulted in much speculation on the prospects not just for AZD1222 itself, but also other vaccines under development. The good news here is that on September 12, the UK’s medicines regulator decreed that it was safe to resume clinical trials of AZD1222.

Gavreto approved, shifting investment thesis to pipeline

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