Pfizer
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Many of the big biopharma companies reported fourth-quarter and year-end earnings this week. If there’s a theme among them, it seems lower earnings per share are forecast for the year.
Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a family of RNA molecules that transport genetic information from DNA to the ribosome, where it specifies the amino acid sequence that creates proteins. In theory, by coding your own mRNA, it should be possible to insert it into the cells and turn them into protein factories churning out whatever drug or molecule you program it to.
For 2018, Pfizer reported revenues of $53.6 billion, which was 2 percent operational growth. The fourth quarter brought in $14 billion, which was 5 percent operational growth.
Pfizer and Eli Lilly and Co. announced that their tanezumab hit two out of three co-primary endpoints in one dose and all three with a higher dose in patients with moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis (OA) pain in a Phase III trial.
Pfizer is a big company with a diverse portfolio, but it hasn’t really been noted for its presence in the oncology market. But now, Pfizer offers 17 drugs to treat cancer, with four approved in the U.S. in 2017.
It’s no secret that the pharmaceutical industry spends a significant amount of money lobbying state and federal governments to gain leverage that will benefit individual companies and the industry overall.
Although that is good news, cancer is the second-most common cause of death in the U.S., with more than 1.7 million new cancer cases each year and more than 600,000 cancer deaths. The report notes that one of the biggest factors in decreased cancer rates are lower tobacco smoking rates.
In 2018, the FDA approved 59 novel drugs, meaning approved new molecular entities. BioSpace analyzed new drug approvals from 2014 to 2018 to determine which companies were responsible for the most drug approvals in that period. Here’s a look.
After conducting a routine research-and-development review, Pfizer is easing away from preclinical biosimilar development. The bottom line is the company is ending five preclinical programs in its biosimilar area and cutting 150 positions.
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