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New data on Hengrui Pharma and Kailera Therapeutics’ investigational oral GLP-1 have validated the late-stage weight loss asset and paved the road for a regulatory submission in China, but analysts pointed to high rates of nausea and vomiting that could challenge the ongoing U.S. study.
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Molecular glue degraders are gaining traction in the clinic as well as funding from Big Pharma, with their potential to treat previously “undruggable” cancers and immunological diseases. Here are five clinical programs worth keeping an eye on.
Last month, the FDA launched TrialBlazer, intended to streamline the IND path and bring early clinical trials and medical innovation home to the U.S. It’s a start, but new agency leadership must see it through.
FDA
Significant leadership instability at the FDA—compounded by continued workforce attrition—led to a slight slowdown in overall regulatory productivity in the first half of this year, but the agency has been catching up of late.
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Congressional letters sent to the CEOs of Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, BMS and AbbVie this week voicing concerns about the pharmas’ clinical trials in China highlight an ongoing discrepancy in how government and industry think about the rise of the Asian country’s biotech industry.
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The company’s candidate, giroctocogene fitelparvovec, met its primary and key secondary objectives of superiority compared to the standard treatment of regular Factor VIII infusions.
A longtime biopharma exec and Moderna shareholder argues in an anonymous email to the companies’ CFOs that they have a fiduciary responsibility to close the deal. Analysts say the proposal is interesting but “too simplistic.”
Biogen and Sage Therapeutics’ investigational neuroactive steroid did not significantly improve upper limb tremors in patients with essential tremor, the companies announced Wednesday.
AstraZeneca is proposing to use Imfinzi for resectable non-small cell lung cancer in the perioperative setting—both before and after surgical resection of the tumor. However, ahead of Thursday’s advisory committee meeting, FDA staffers have expressed concerns.
Executives from the three largest pharmacy benefit manager companies testified Tuesday before Congress that rising drug prices in the U.S. are due to pharma companies taking advantage of market exclusivities and excessive charges.
Third Arc Bio, led by three former Johnson & Johnson executives, is advancing a portfolio of multifunctional antibodies for cancer and inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases.
Despite early 2024 optimism, BioSpace’s Job Market Trends report outlines a still sluggish situation in the biopharma industry, Novartis and J&J announce Q2 earnings, GLP-1 market leaders expand into China and the Cassava Sciences saga continues.
While supportive of Amylyx’s acquisition of a GLP-1 drug, analysts say the company’s future hinges on key upcoming readouts from multiple products in its pipeline.
In the largest study of its kind, GSK’s two-drug regimen Dovato demonstrated non-inferior efficacy compared to Gilead Sciences’ three-drug regimen Biktarvy for the treatment of HIV-1.
RSV
Merck’s clesrovimab lowered the risk of medically attended lower respiratory infections associated with RSV infection when used in infants, according to topline results announced Tuesday.