Drug Delivery
A push to reshore some drug production and progress in advanced manufacturing technologies have been prominent trends this year, industry leaders say.
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Following FDA rejections, Regeneron and Scholar Rock are turning to other facilities to clear regulatory logjams created by quality problems at an ex-Catalent facility in Indiana. Novo Nordisk, meanwhile, has been tight-lipped about whether its own FDA applications have been affected.
Experts suggest the FDA’s Advanced Manufacturing Technologies designation could be a lifeline for improving production processes for approved cell and gene therapies.
Novo Nordisk goes “on the offensive” following Trump deal that also included rival Eli Lilly, putting an exclamation point on rapidly declining GLP-1 drug prices. Experts say the unusual situation makes it hard to predict what’s next.
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Companies have claimed improvements to yield, batch consistency and output while acknowledging the risks and challenges created by the technology.
There’s still much more to come from the White House on tariffs, but the European Union has now reached a trade agreement with the U.S.
Among the problems cited were cat hair, bacterial contamination and instrument defects.
President Donald Trump first threatened pharma tariffs in February and recently said they were imminent. Johnson & Johnson’s new investment adds to a $55 billion pledge made by the company in March.
A draft copy of an upcoming MAHA report reveals a strategy in lockstep with recent HHS actions such as reviving the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines; Viking Therapeutics reports robust efficacy from mid-stage oral obesity candidate but is tripped up by tolerability concerns; Novo Nordisk wins approval for Wegovy in MASH; and Lilly takes a pricing stand.
The Trump administration’s ever-changing tariffs and Most Favored Nation drug pricing are part of a blizzard of unclear, potentially illegal tactics that leave observers throwing their hands in the air.
Drugs are being invented and manufactured right here in the U.S. by Americans, for Americans. So why doesn’t the industry hold the same respect as steelworkers or other all-American pursuits?
While the 10-fold increase in dose over injectable Wegovy has raised questions about the launch, Novo Nordisk has assured investors it has the manufacturing capacity to roll out oral semaglutide without restrictions on supply.
As Trump has pressured drugmakers to lower the cost of medicines in the U.S., the pharma industry has coalesced behind a message of rebalancing what nations pay to better reflect the innovation and value of drugmaking.
President Donald Trump loves a deal, but Most Favored Nation drug pricing isn’t a good one for anyone.