News
This week’s release of the Make America Health Again report revealed continued emphasis on vaccine safety; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s faceoff with senators last week amounted to political theater; the FDA promises complete response letters in real time and shares details on a new rare disease framework; and Summit disappoints at the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Barcelona.
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Vocal skeptics of COVID-19 vaccinations gave mRNA a bad name and government funding for mRNA research is now being cut. On the flip side, at least one CEO said the pandemic also provided “elevated acceleration” for the field, which also holds promise in therapeutics for cancer and rare diseases.
As the World Health Organization initiates a new agreement for coordinating global responses to future pandemics, the future of vaccine development in the U.S. faces growing challenges, including waning funding and regulatory changes, that threaten next-gen COVID-19 vaccine candidates and pandemic preparedness more broadly.
Beginning this week in Chicago, the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual conference will feature presentations that could have far-reaching implications for breast and blood cancers and more.
Job Trends
Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted approval to Abecma® (idecabtagene vicleucel; ide-cel) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies, including an immunomodulatory agent (IMiD), a proteasome inhibitor (PI), and an anti-CD38 antibody and have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy.
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
Out-licensing drugs to multinational corporations is a natural step for Chinese biotechs, but the recent rise in deals is only scratching at the surface of partnership-ready biotechs in the region.
While a substantial portion of pipeline assets are externally sourced, many Big Pharmas are tapping into incubators and venture funds to uncover cutting-edge scientific trends, determine their future focus points and even carve out a niche in an emerging geographical hotspot.
Albert Bourla confirmed that he called President Donald Trump after receiving a letter asking Pfizer and a clutch of other pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices or face consequences.
BMN 390 fell short of an immunogenicity threshold that BioMarin was looking for to support its further development. Employees working on the program have been redeployed within the company.
The number of biopharma professionals let go has increased year over year for three straight months. In July, as many as 8,000 people lost or were projected to lose their jobs, due largely to news that Merck projects to cut roughly 6,000 employees as part of a multiyear process.
Vertex reported healthy revenue in its second quarter earnings report, though news of VX-993’s mid-stage trial results and lack of alignment with the FDA regarding an expanded label for Journavx tempered analyst reactions, sending the stock down 13%.
Praxis’ vormatrigine reduced seizures by 56.3%, an effect size that, according to analysts at Truist Securities, exceeds that of its closest competitors.
While the deaths occurred in patients who had been treated with Agios’ anemia treatment Pyrukynd, the biotech insisted in an SEC filing midday Monday that the drug’s risk-benefit profile remains unchanged.
In an open letter, 22 experts who designed and ran Replimune’s Phase III IGNYTE trial answered the FDA’s issues, as outlined in the complete response letter for the melanoma candidate RP1.
From innovation in manufacturing to more-flexible regulation and better communication with payers, much needs to happen to make CGTs commercially viable. But it is possible, experts agreed at a recent panel.