WELCOME TO FIERCE LIFE SCIENCES WEEKLY DIGEST With a goal of delivering 2 billion vaccine doses in 2021, Pfizer and BioNTech aim to cut the amount of time needed to produce a single batch from 110 days to 60, after already doubling output in the past month. Meanwhile, Sanofi’s CEO said that mRNA may become the go-to tech for future pandemic outbreaks, but it may face a higher bar for more established infectious diseases—especially against the flu, where Sanofi is a top player. Elsewhere, a new study further illustrates the effect of gut bacteria on the development of multiple sclerosis, potentially laying out new treatment paths. Our top stories of the week follow below. | |
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Featured Story | By Fraiser Kansteiner Pfizer aims to cut the time to produce a COVID-19 vaccine batch by nearly 50%, Chaz Calitri, VP of sterile injectables, told USA Today. Take DNA production, for instance—the first step in Pfizer's manufacturing process, which originally took 16 days, but could soon be done in as few as nine or 10, Calitri said. read more |
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Top Stories Of The Week By Ben Adams Gilead has sunk billions into Galapagos over the past few years, but this is quickly turning into one of the most disastrous biotech deals in recent history. read more By Eric Sagonowsky After Eli Lilly heard allegations of an inappropriate relationship between its chief financial officer, Josh Smiley, and an employee, the drugmaker hired an external firm to investigate. Now, Smiley is not only out of the job, but also forfeiting $24 million in cash and equity awards. read more By Eric Sagonowsky After regulatory delays and manufacturing issues caused Bristol Myers Squibb investors to miss out on the lucrative Celgene contingent value right, the closely watched CAR-T drug liso-cel has finally scored an FDA nod. read more By Ben Adams Cynthia Collins is out as Editas Medicine’s CEO as chairman James Mullen takes over from Feb. 15 after the biotech lost its Allergan/AbbVie partnership on its leading eye disease drug EDIT-101. read more By Angus Liu Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, but a new study suggested it may not be inflammatory molecules found in the brain that are responsible for the disorder. Rather, cytokines that work through the gut microbiome could be driving the disease, German researchers found. read more By Eric Sagonowsky In the global COVID-19 vaccine race, mRNA vaccines quickly got out to the front of the pack and two reached distribution in less than a year. But their quick success in COVID-19 doesn't guarantee mRNA will replace traditional vaccine technologies across the industry, Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson told Barron’s. read more By Sharon Klahr Coey Dexcom's slick Super Bowl commercial featuring singer celebrity Nick Jonas notched compliments, but it spurred some complaints, too. Social media commenters praised the high-profile Type 1 diabetes awareness, but many also pointed out the high cost of monitors and medications. read more By Ben Adams Last year, AbbVie decided to walk away from a pact with gene editing biotech Editas that was originally penned via its new buyout, Allergan. read more By Conor Hale Developed by Signifier Medical Technologies, the eXciteOSA mouthpiece electrically stimulates and tones the mouth muscles to help keep them from relaxing and blocking the airway during sleep. read more Resources Sponsored By: Medidata, a Dassault Systèmes company 8 parameters to optimize your “Path to Virtualization” across site- and patient-centric capabilities in this Sponsor Edition eBook. Sponsored By: LabVantage Solutions Uncover the real impact of “digital transformation” with practical advice to help you plan your own transformative journey to a harmonized digital ecosystem. Sponsored By: Acorn AI, a Medidata Company Acorn AI has developed a flexible and scalable Commercial Data Model that provides pharmaceutical companies with the data-driven insights required to respond to the industry’s ever-changing landscape. Download the whitepaper to learn how Acorn AI’s intuitive data model enables launch success and more. Sponsored by: Catalent Autologous cell therapies have seen propelled growth since 2017, with the spotlight on the first FDA approval of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy, Kymriah® (tisagenlecleucel), for the treatment of relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Sponsored by: Catalent Learn about proven strategies for a successful product launch, including cross-functional team collaboration, risk management and using the right project management tools. Sponsored by: Catalent Learn about a real-world example of how clinical supply management expertise was applied to overcome inventory challenges for a complex, global study. Sponsored by: Catalent Whether a study is simple or highly complex, forecasting and simulation reports serve as data driven communication tools to help minimize risks and keep the study on track. Learn more about forecasting solutions for informed decision making and supporting contingency planning for clinical study. |
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