| Welcome to FierceLifeSci Weekly Digest, your roundup of the biggest and most popular stories from each of our publications. | |
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Featured Story Wednesday, February 22, 2017 Activist investor Carl Icahn has moved into Bristol-Myers Squibb, touching off more megamerger speculation. After all, the company has seen a major reversal of fortunes since its immunotherapy Opdivo fell short in a key lung cancer study last fall, and just yesterday, it bowed to another activist by adding three directors to its board. Top Stories Of The Week Tuesday, February 21, 2017 Sarepta has struck a $125 million deal to sell a voucher it got with last year’s controversial FDA approval of its new Duchenne drug to Gilead, which will give the Big Biotech a one-time speedy review pass for an NDA app to the U.S. regulator. Tuesday, February 21, 2017 Among the many meds that’ll lose patent protection in the U.S. this year are 10 drugs that each contribute in a big way for top drugmakers. Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Takeda, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead Sciences are set to hit the patent cliff this year with some of their respective big sellers. Thursday, February 23, 2017 Editors at The BMJ have warned that President Trump’s policies could damage biomedical research and regulation around the world. The journal has committed to fostering open debate and supporting those who “speak truth to power” to counter the actions of an administration it sees as heading for a “head-on collision with the scientific and health communities.” Tuesday, February 21, 2017 J&J is the most admired pharma company, according to Fortune's annual corporate poll, for the fourth year in a row and comes in at No. 13 among all global companies. Friday, February 17, 2017 Engineered T cells, which aim to mount an immune response against cancer, are gaining steam in the immuno-oncology market, with Kite Pharma and Novartis racing to get their CAR-T therapies for blood cancers approved. Researchers from Mayo Clinic and the University of Washington have developed a new process to improve the efficacy of these treatments. Thursday, February 16, 2017 President Trump told vaccine critic Robert Kennedy Jr. that he won't "back down" from plans to create a commission on vax safety, despite the guaranteed "uproar" from the pharma industry, Kennedy said Wednesday. The political scion and longtime vaccine skeptic said the Trump team may have backpedaled last month when the commission news broke, but it's still in the works. Tuesday, February 21, 2017 IBM Watson was set to announce new partnerships and a new platform at a health IT conference Monday, but reports of the company’s vaunted partnership with the MD Anderson Cancer Center being put on hold may have stolen its thunder. Wednesday, February 22, 2017 The Pfizer fill-finish plant whose manufacturing problems have gut-punched the expected approval of a generic of Teva’s long-acting Copaxone is a former Hospira plant with a history of issues. Some analysts think the delay could run to next year. Wednesday, February 22, 2017 PPD just formed a partnership with Frenova Renal Research, which is giving PPD access to its vast network of nephrology experts and patients. | 