News

The carve-out acquisition will allow Bain to capitalize on the “promising signs for growth” in the Japanese life sciences market, recently revitalized by more industry-friendly policy changes from the government.
FEATURED STORIES
Experts suggest the FDA’s Advanced Manufacturing Technologies designation could be a lifeline for improving production processes for approved cell and gene therapies.
Mixed headlines have plagued the cell and gene therapy space of late. We believe that a renewed case of optimism is not only warranted but essential if these therapies are to reach their full potential.
FDA
Since July, several biotechs have been forced to pivot as previous agreements with the FDA around evidence required for approval were reversed, a phenomenon that, according to experts, could portend a more restrictive regulator.
Job Trends
Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., “Astellas”) today announced positive topline results from the Phase 3 China ARCHES study of XTANDI® (enzalutamide) plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) versus placebo plus ADT.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
Unpredictable communication and a lack of transparency are eroding the industry’s and the public’s trust. The FDA, experts agree, needs to take control of the narrative.
THE LATEST
The FDA’s approval of Kisqali in combination with an aromatase inhibitor allows Novartis to target patients with earlier breast cancer who are at risk of recurrence.
If Johnson & Johnson refuses to scrap its proposed changes to the 340B drug pricing for hospitals, it risks the termination of participation in the program and monetary fines, the Health Resources and Services Administration warned.
Infusions of Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics’ Casgevy and bluebird bio’s Lyfgenia have begun; Moderna targets 10 approvals through 2027; more oral obesity drug data; the latest from ESMO and more.
Pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts announced Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Missouri against the Federal Trade Commission for its “unfair, biased and erroneous” July report on the industry.
The release of early-stage data on three oral weight loss drug candidates hints at which companies have the strongest hand, but the comparisons are rife with confounding variables, leaving analysts unsure about where to place their bets.
Last month, Vertex said sickle cell patients had not yet received infusions of its gene therapy Casgevy. That’s now changed, as the company races with bluebird bio’s Lyfgenia.
Despite meeting the primary endpoint in a Phase III study, two patients treated with Merck and Daiichi Sankyo’s experimental antibody-drug conjugate died in a Phase III non-small cell lung cancer study, though the deaths have not been linked to patritumab deruxtecan.
In metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, a retrospective analysis shows that patients on GLP-1 receptor agonists are 14% less likely to progress to cirrhosis.
Boehringer Ingelheim’s investigational compound nerandomilast, which targets the PDE4B enzyme involved in fibrosis and inflammation in the lungs, met its primary endpoint in a late-stage study.
RSV
The newly approved filling line will be able to provide both 50-mg and 100-mg doses of the respiratory syncytial virus antibody Beyfortus to help meet demand ahead of the 2024/2025 RSV season.