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Nestlé Sells Peanut Allergy Drug, Ending the Food Giant’s Foray Into Biotech
Peanut allergy therapy Palforzia, which Nestlé acquired in a multi-billion dollar deal, has been sold to allergy product company Stallergenes Greer. Palforzia was the first FDA-approved drug for peanut allergy, but its sales were hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Star Therapeutics Lands $90M to Expand Its Drug Discovery Universe
Startup Star Therapeutics will use the Series B funding to support clinical development of a drug candidate for von Willebrand disease, a bleeding disorder. The capital will also support the formation of new biotech subsidiaries developing antibodies with therapeutic applications in hematology and immunology.
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Payer’s Place: Dr. Anil Singh
Dr. Anil Singh shares his insights into the strategies employed by the organization to identify the most effective digital solutions for their members.
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Twice Rejected Diabetes Drug/Device Product Gets New Chance at Startup i2o
Intarcia Therapeutics’ GLP-1 agonist product candidate for type 2 diabetes now belongs to i2o Therapeutics, which will make the treatment’s case for approval at an upcoming FDA advisory committee meeting. The startup’s $46 million Series A financing is one of several recently announced funding rounds.
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Amgen, FTC Settlement Allows $28B Horizon Acquisition to Move Forward
Amgen and the Federal Trade Commission are settling the lawsuit the regulator filed to block the pharmaceutical giant’s $28 billion Horizon Therapeutics acquisition. As part of the settlement, Amgen agrees not to “bundle” its products with Horizon’s drugs in negotiations with health plans.
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Senate Bill Proposes Slashing ‘Red Tape’ Around Biosimilar Interchangeability
Legislation introduced by Utah Senator Mike Lee would eliminate testing to show a biosimilar can be substituted for a reference biologic product. Lee contends the current testing requirement adds costs and delays market access for these lower-cost biological medicines.
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Apellis Lays Off 25% of Staff and Turns Focus to Commercializing New Eye Drug
The Apellis Pharmaceuticals restructuring will save up to $300 million. It comes as the biotech continues its inquiry into the cause of a rare inflammatory complication reported in a small number of patients who received its geographic atrophy drug, Syfovre.
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BMS Cancer Drug’s New FDA Nod Puts It on Path to Reach Blockbuster Status
Bristol Myers Squibb drug Reblozyl is now approved as a first-line therapy for anemia caused by myelodysplastic syndromes, a group of blood cancers. It’s the third indication for the drug, which analysts project could top $4 billion in peak sales.
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Bayer Pushes Ahead With Parkinson’s Cell Therapy on Heels of Positive Phase 1 Data
A Bayer cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease has met primary and secondary goals of its first test in humans, and the pharmaceutical giant is now planning for a larger Phase 2 clinical trial expected to begin enrollment in the first half of next year.
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Discover the Next-Gen Platform for Integrated Collaborative Care
Beyond EHRs and digital front doors, reducing the gaps in patient care journeys.
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Danaher Continues M&A Streak, Buying Life Sciences Firm Abcam for $5.7B
Abcam’s acquisition comes two months after its board announced the exploration of strategic alternatives that could include the sale of the company. Danaher beat out at least 20 companies that were potential buyers of the life sciences tools and antibody development firm.
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Precision Bio Offloads Lead Cell Therapy Program in Pivot to In Vivo Gene Editing
Imugene gains global rights to Precision BioSciences’ most advanced program, an allogeneic cell therapy for advanced cases of blood cancer. Precision will now focus on in vivo gene editing therapies, some of which is partnered with Novartis and Eli Lilly.
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Gilead Partners With Startup Getting Its Tentacles Into New Biologic Drug Territory
Gilead Sciences is partnering with Tentarix Biotherapeutics, a startup developing multifunctional antibody drugs that it calls “Tentacles.” Tentarix’s technology offers the potential to selectively address targets in cancer and inflammation.
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Pfizer Expands to Multiple Myeloma With FDA Approval for New Antibody Drug
Oncology is already a big piece of Pfizer’s drug lineup. The portfolio is expanding to multiple myeloma with FDA approval of Elrexfio, a bispecific antibody that targets the cancer protein BCMA.
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Harmony Bio’s Zynerba Buyout Brings Cannabinoid That Doesn’t Spark Euphoria
Zynerba Pharmaceuticals’ lead drug candidate is designed to bring the therapeutic effect of cannabinoids without also causing euphoric effects. The synthetic cannabinoid in a topical gel formulation includes none of the psychoactive compounds from the cannabis plant.
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FDA Approves J&J Combo Drug for Prostate Cancers With Certain Genetic Signature
Johnson & Johnson’s Akeega is approved for treating advanced prostate cancer with a BRCA mutation. The drug, which interferes with a way cancer cells repair themselves, will compete against recently approved drugs from Pfizer and partners AstraZeneca and Merck.