Drug Delivery
GSK, Gilead and Arcellx, Vertex and more present new data at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting just as sickle cell therapies Casgevy and Lyfgenia have a new outcomes-based payment model; Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk pump new funds into manufacturing; and AbbVie makes a Cerevel comeback while uniQure clears a path toward accelerated approval in Huntington’s disease.
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Representatives of companies including AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson and Merck have voiced concerns about the FDA’s approach to pre-approval inspections.
After a series of unfortunate regulatory rejections and manufacturing issues surfaced, Regeneron’s shares dipped to $483 this summer—the lowest they’d been since early 2021. But they now sit higher than they did at the start of the year.
The status could support staged transitions to new manufacturing processes, potentially mitigating some risks of high-stakes switches.
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After discontinuing its long-acting insulin product Levemir, Novo has again found itself under legislative scrutiny, with three Democratic senators seeking a sit-down with the pharma.
Vertex has filed a complaint against the Department of Health and Human Services, seeking to make its fertility preservation program available to federally insured patients needing Casgevy treatment.
Some analysts say so, and a recent study suggested Lilly’s tirzepatide beat Novo’s semaglutide at inducing weight loss, but there are other factors in the market race.
The Federal Trade Commission criticized the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers this week, but drugmakers are also at fault for the high costs of medicines.
Akebia Therapeutics on Thursday said it regained full U.S. rights to its chronic kidney disease anemia drug Vafseo, which the biotech has priced at around $15,500 per year.
CVS Caremark’s recent decision to take AbbVie’s Humira off its major formularies has caused the blockbuster to lose more market share to biosimilars, according to the latest report from Samsung Bioepis.
The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bill aimed at limiting the number of patents drugmakers can introduce and making it easier for generic and biosimilar competitors to enter the market.
The Federal Trade Commission plans to file lawsuits against the three largest pharmacy benefit managers over allegedly steering patients away from less expensive drugs, according to The Wall Street Journal.
As Novo Nordisk’s weight loss drug enters the Chinese market, its patent is expiring in two years and biosimilar competition is rising.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday said he intends to have a “significant package of China-related legislation” signed into law by the end of this year, including the BIOSECURE Act which intends to stop federal contracts with Chinese “companies of concern.”