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#HLTH24: Experts debate the way AI can transform mental healthcare
LAS VEGAS — AI may have a part to play in delivering mental healthcare, despite the empathetic and human nature of the specialty, but experts differ on what is considered safe. Leslie Witt Instead of...
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Pfizer activist Starboard says company must be held 'accountable' for R&D
Activist investor Starboard Value said Pfizer’s executives haven’t delivered on what they once called one of the best pipelines in the industry, and need to be held accountable by the company’s board...
View Article#HLTH24: 'It’s not right.' Califf slams pharma over weight loss drug prices
LAS VEGAS — FDA Commissioner Robert Califf criticized pharma companies on Monday for charging high prices for weight loss drugs. Califf called the profit margin in the US for the drugs “outrageous.”...
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Ahead of Novo’s CagriSema readout, Lilly returns to a promising new class of...
In its quest to stay at the top of the obesity drug market, Eli Lilly is following in Novo Nordisk’s footsteps by pursuing a new class of weight loss drugs. The Indianapolis drug giant said this month...
View ArticleMacroGenics sells rights to breast cancer drug; Rice’s new biotech accelerator
Plus, news about Annexon, Passkey Therapeutics, XOMA Royalty and Twist Bioscience: MacroGenics sells breast cancer drug rights for up to $75 million: The company is handing over Margenza’s rights to...
View ArticleOtsuka’s cytokine-targeting drug for IgAN clears Phase 3 hurdle
Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s 2018 purchase of Visterra seems to be paying off after its anti-APRIL antibody passed a registrational test in a rare kidney disease. The IgA nephropathy (IgAN) antibody, named...
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Editas pivots away from ex vivo sickle cell therapy in favor of in vivo approach
Editas Medicine is ousting its ex vivo sickle cell and beta thalassemia gene therapy to instead focus on an in vivo treatment for the diseases. The company announced Tuesday that it’s seeking to...
View ArticleSamsung Bio inks largest deal yet worth $1.24B with unnamed Asian pharma
Samsung Biologics has so far secured at least five major contracts this year, and its latest with an unnamed Asia-based pharmaceutical company is its largest ever, worth $1.24 billion. The new contract...
View ArticleICER slightly softens its recommendation on Pfizer's ATTR-CM drug price
A US drug pricing watchdog has raised the range by which it thinks Pfizer’s heart muscle disease drug tafamidis, marketed as Vyndamax and Vyndaqel, should be priced annually, but it’s still...
View ArticleLawyers predict Biosecure passage in Congress' lame duck session
BETHESDA, MD — A panel of DC-focused lawyers predicted that the anti-China Biosecure Act is likely headed for final passage during the congressional “lame duck” period between the election and the...
View ArticleStarboard says Kenvue skin and beauty lines need to be reinvigorated
Starboard Value, the activist investor pushing for changes at Pfizer, unveiled its goals for another healthcare company — Johnson & Johnson’s consumer spinout Kenvue. In a presentation Tuesday at...
View ArticleAmgen preps to launch Eylea biosimilar years early after Regeneron loses appeal
Amgen is moving forward with the launch of Pavblu, its biosimilar to Regeneron’s blockbuster Eylea, following an appeals court decision that ruled against competitor Regeneron. “We look forward to...
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Be Bio raises $82M for work on B cell therapy in hemophilia B
Be Bio’s $82 million round announced Tuesday will help the Cambridge, MA-based biotech fund work for two of its drugs in development, including the first-ever B cell therapy to enter human studies for...
View ArticleSenators question whether Pfizer, Eli Lilly telehealth platforms violate law
Four senators want to know more about Pfizer and Eli Lilly’s partnerships with telehealth providers, and whether that may lead to inappropriate prescribing. In two letters dated Monday, the lawmakers...
View ArticleOcuphire and Opus Genetics merge in all-stock ophthalmology deal
The eye drop maker Ocuphire Pharma and startup Opus Genetics are merging in an all-stock deal, the companies told Endpoints News. Ocuphire $OCUP will acquire privately-held Opus and adopt its name, and...
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Sangamo to seek accelerated approval for Fabry gene therapy
Sangamo Therapeutics thinks it’s found a faster, earlier pathway to approval for its Fabry disease gene therapy. The biotech announced Tuesday that it plans to seek an accelerated approval from the FDA...
View ArticleRoche says it is undeterred by upcoming biosimilar threat to Vabysmo
Roche’s competition in the eye disease space is intensifying with Regeneron’s high-dose Eylea and a looming biosimilar challenge, but the Swiss pharma said its blockbuster eye drug Vabysmo is holding...
View ArticleMerck acquires Modifi Bio and brain cancer assets for $30M
Merck is acquiring a startup spun out of Yale called Modifi Bio, which has developed a suite of molecules against chemotherapy-resistant glioblastoma, a devastating and often deadly disease. Merck will...
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UK’s price watchdog says Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug is too costly for broad uptake
Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug Kisunla is likely to face an uphill uptake battle in the UK after its local cost-effectiveness watchdog NICE said it “cannot currently be considered good value for the...
View ArticleHouston startup March Biosciences raises $28M Series A to get CAR-T into Phase 2
A nimble Houston startup has raised a concise $28.4 million Series A to start a mid-stage trial. The company, named March Biosciences, will enter Phase 2 early next year with an autologous CAR-T cell...
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