Biogen
NEWS
Switzerland-based Novartis is buying Bannockburn, Illinois-based AveXis for $8.7 billion. This could spell big trouble for Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen.
Yet another Alzheimer’s drug has failed in late-stage clinical trials. vTv Therapeutics’ azeliragon failed to meet either co-primary efficacy endpoint in its Phase III STEADFAST clinical trial. It was being evaluated in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease.
It’s no secret that drugmakers have struggled to develop a therapeutic to treat or halt the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Multiple drugs have failed in late-stage trials and some companies, such as Pfizer, have largely given up on the space.
Novartis has struck a deal to acquire AveXis for $8.7 billion. Novartis will pay $218 per share, which is a 72 percent premium over AveXis’s 30-day volume-weighted average stock price.
When it comes to large-cap biotech companies, Gilead Sciences, Biogen and Celgene are always worth investment consideration, but are not without their risks.
The FDA issued two Complete Response Letters (CRLs) to South Korean manufacturer Celltrion. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries signed a deal in 2016 with Celltrion to commercialize the two biosimilars.
U.S. sales of AbbVie’s blockbuster Humira is safe from a biosimilar challenge from Samsung Bioepis, a joint project between Samsung and Biogen, until 2023.
If a brand name drug loses patent protection, that often marks the date when companies can begin marketing generic versions of the drug. However, this has grown more complicated with the approvals of biosimilars.
Novartis filed a federal lawsuit against a former executive, Alisha Alaimo. The lawsuit alleged that Alaimo stole confidential files using a flash drive before joining Biogen.
JOBS
IN THE PRESS