BioSpace News Archive

The executives, convicted under the RICO Act, were found guilty of bribing prescribers and defrauding insurers in order to increase sales of Subsys, a powerful opioid pain killer intended for use with cancer patients.

Curbing the opioid crisis will continue to be a key focus for the FDA. Ned Sharpless talked about new packaging rules that are expected to help stem the concerns about too many opioids on the streets.

The annual meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) was held in Washington, DC this week, with literally hundreds of abstracts and presentations. Here’s a look at some of the highlights.

Despite continued slumps in sales of its hepatitis C medications, Gilead Sciences saw a robust first quarter, with earnings up nearly 28 percent. That was good news as new Chief Executive Officer Dan O’Day marked his first full quarter with the California-based company.

Researchers with the NYU School of Medicine and the University of Michigan identified a gene called ATDC that is necessary for the development of pancreatic cancer. They published their research in the journal Genes & Development.

In the study, tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis and Viagra, reversed the effects of heart failure, including the breathlessness associated with it.

The industry was shaken up when Tokyo-based Eisai and its collaboration partner, Biogen, announced they were abandoning huge swaths of their Alzheimer’s program related to aducanumab in late March.

Less than one year after securing a toehold in the United States, Korea-based Enzychem Lifesciences hit a major milestone with its pipeline as it eyes completion of its Phase II CRIOM (Chemoradiation Induced Oral Mucositis) study, which could lead to eventual commercialization of a treatment for the serious cancer treatment by-product.

We interviewed Gaius Augustus, a PhD candidate at the University of Arizona, who is a participant in their Cancer Biology Graduate Interdisciplinary Program. He is also a bioinformatician, who regularly incorporates epidemiological data into his work.