News
Improved survival on display at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago; Pfizer’s unusual pact with China’s Innovent highlights a new type of collaboration; Eli Lilly continues its nonstop deal streak, including with Chinese biotechs; and looking ahead to this weekend’s American Diabetes Association meeting.
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For Peter Pitts, a former associate commissioner at the FDA, the appointment to the board of BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is an opportunity to fulfill a promise he made long ago to a patient with ALS.
The American Diabetes Association’s annual congress will feature a superstar lineup, including weight loss giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. But several scrappy biotechs will also present obesity candidates with the potential to match—if not outperform—their deep-pocketed competitors.
After trial flops in spinal muscular atrophy, depression and bipolar disorder—and a costly rare disease drug rejection—Biohaven is undergoing a reset, recasting its former SMA candidate for obesity.
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FDA veteran Peter Marks will now shape the future of Eli Lilly’s vaccines work after the buys of Curevo, LimmaTech Biologics and Vaccine Company for up to $3.8 billion total.
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Following rusfertide’s triumphant Phase III trial last year, Protagonist must decide how involved to be in future development. Hundreds of millions of dollars are on the line.
Ocular Therapeutix’s lead asset is Axpaxli, being developed for wet age-related macular degeneration. A Phase III study is underway, with data expected this quarter.
Speaking on the sidelines of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Novo business development executive Tamara Darsow said the company is gunning for obesity and diabetes assets.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation’s funds will go toward supporting early-stage companies working in “human health, planetary health and societal resilience.”
Robert Kramer, former CEO of Emergent BioSolutions, allegedly earned more than $10.1 million by executing trades with information related to the company’s manufacturing operations that had yet to be made public.
After a cacophony of troubles hit the RNA editing biotech last fall, CEO Ram Aiyar is in San Francisco to develop partnerships, pitch the potential of its new AATD program and find more money to keep the dream alive.
Incoming PhRMA Chair Paul Hudson, a day before the White House announcement, pledged to work with the administration as the president turns to insurers as a source of cost savings for prescription medicines.
Target action dates for drugs sponsored by Sanofi, Boehringer Ingelheim and Disc Medicine have also been pushed back despite assurances of swift reviews under the FDA’s new Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program.
Strive Compounding Pharmacy alleged in its lawsuit that Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have worked to lock telehealth providers in exclusive partnerships, disallowing them from offering compounded versions of GLP-1 medicines.
Half of the net proceeds will go to Jazz; it remains unclear who will get the remaining sum. Jazz did not reveal the buyer of the voucher.