BioSpace News Archive

Drug Development

Urovant’s Irritable Bowel Drug Fails in Phase II; Genmab Abandons Cancer Drug

Even companies with otherwise promising pipelines or successful products on the market sometimes face clinical trial failures. Two such companies had disappointing clinical trial announcements today.

November 25, 2020
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3 min read
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Mark Terry
Policy

Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty for Role in Opioid Crisis, Ushering in New Chapter

Days after Purdue Pharma reached a combined $8.4 billion criminal and civil settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the OxyContin drugmaker pleaded guilty to three criminal charges to resolve its role in the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States.

November 25, 2020
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3 min read
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Alex Keown
Drug Development

Thankful for Biopharma Breakthroughs

Despite the constant need for social distancing, mask-wearing, and the isolation and economic uncertainty that resulted from the outbreak, there is still much to be thankful for when families gather around a virtual table to break bread and carve the turkey this year.

November 25, 2020
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4 min read
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Alex Keown
Business

Harnessing Nature for Faster mRNA Vaccine Manufacturing

Manufacturing capacity is often decried as a major bottleneck in administering COVID-19 vaccines to a global population of 7.8 billion. For mRNA vaccines, the bottleneck is the availability of raw materials, not bioreactors.

November 25, 2020
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3 min read
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Gail Dutton
Drug Development

COVID-19 Brief: Vaccine Distribution and More Follow-Up News

There has been a high level of movement in COVID-19 vaccine news this week, with Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford all having positive clinical trial announcements. Here’s some follow-up news.

November 25, 2020
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4 min read
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Mark Terry
Business

Research Roundup: How COVID-19 Hijacks Host Cells and More

Every week there are numerous scientific studies published. Here’s a look at some of the more interesting ones.

November 25, 2020
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6 min read
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Mark Terry
Drug Development

Convalescent Plasma Flunks Study in COVID-19 Patients with Severe Pneumonia

Convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19 infections has demonstrated mixed results at best in terms of efficacy, and a recent trial in Argentina provides additional fuel to that conversation.

November 25, 2020
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2 min read
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Alex Keown
Drug Development

MediciNova’s Ibudilast Reduces Retinal Thinning in MS Trial Subjects

MediciNova announced today that it received positive Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) results from its SPRINT-MS Phase IIb trial of MN-166 (ibudilast) in multiple sclerosis (MS) subjects.

November 25, 2020
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3 min read
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Krystle Vermes
Policy

FDA Action Alert: Y-mAbs, Vanda, Alnylam and BioCryst

The end of November and beginning of December is marked by several PDUFA dates at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Here’s a look.

November 25, 2020
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4 min read
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Mark Terry
Cleanrooms, Contamination and the Realities of Pharmaceutical Automation

In the cleanroom environment specifically, the benefits of automation are more than meets the microscope.

November 25, 2020
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6 min read
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Abbey Glasure