Astellas nixes Adaptimmune cell therapy collab

Today's Big News

Apr 12, 2023

Biopharmas take abortion pill fight to the courts, denouncing 'chilling effect' of judge's ruling


Activist investor Icahn calls for Illumina CEO to be voted off company board over Grail deal


Astellas takes $340M charge on Evrenzo, joins GSK in nixing cell therapy collab with Adaptimmune


Merck KGaA's multiple sclerosis drug hit with partial FDA hold, adding to BTK-liver injury links


After telegraphing layoffs last month, J&J secures $14M sale of consumer health plant in Pennsylvania

 

Featured

Biopharmas take abortion pill fight to the courts, denouncing 'chilling effect' of judge's ruling

The biopharmas that objected to a Texas judge’s ruling suspending the approval of the abortion drug mifepristone are not content with just a letter. The companies have now banded together to support the U.S. government’s appeal in an amicus brief.
 

Top Stories

Activist investor Icahn calls for Illumina CEO to be voted off company board over Grail deal

Icahn previously put forward three names that he wants to see appointed to the DNA giant’s nine-seat board of directors. Now he says that—if anyone needs to go to make room—it might as well be the CEO.

Astellas takes $340M charge on Evrenzo, joins GSK in nixing cell therapy collab with Adaptimmune

Astellas is doing some house cleaning under new CEO Naoki Okamura, booking impairments from three programs before its full-year earnings report.

Merck KGaA's multiple sclerosis drug hit with partial FDA hold, adding to BTK-liver injury links

The evidence that drug-induced liver injury is a classwide problem for BTK inhibitors is mounting up. In the wake of its partial clinical holds on studies involving Biogen and Sanofi, the FDA has clamped down on trials of Merck KGaA’s contender in response to evidence of damage to the liver of two patients.

After telegraphing layoffs last month, J&J secures $14M sale of consumer health plant in Pennsylvania

After decades under Johnson & Johnson, a massive plant that once cranked out over-the-counter mainstays like Pepcid and Imodium is poised to hit the market.

Novo Nordisk pens $725M deal with Aspect Biosystems for 3D-printed tissue treatments for diabetes

Novo Nordisk’s diabetes treatments have so far revolved around injected insulins and other medications along with a slate of insulin pen technologies to help perform those injections. Now, however, the Big Pharma is looking even deeper under the skin for its next diabetes therapeutic.

Trailing AstraZeneca and Merck, Junshi reports phase 3 ovarian cancer success for Lynparza rival

Junshi Biosciences has established its credentials as the next challenger for the increasingly congested Chinese PARP inhibitor market. A phase 3 trial of the candidate hit its primary endpoint, setting Junshi up to compete with products including AstraZeneca and Merck & Co.’s Lynparza for the ovarian cancer space.

Moderna nabs a win in Arbutus patent case as appeals court upholds prior invalidation

As Arbutus tries its hand in lawsuits against Moderna and Pfizer, an appeals court upheld a prior decision to strike one of its patents.

Wireless pacemakers show promise in children, but surgical challenges remain: study

A study of miniaturized, leadless pacemakers found that, due to their smaller size, they could provide a promising, short-term option for certain children with abnormally slow heartbeats.

Faced with rocky interim data for rare disease drug, Aeglea lays off more staff and seeks exit route

Employees at Aeglea BioTherapeutics who survived the company’s previous two rounds of layoffs may be left wondering if it was worth it, as the biotech effectively throws in the towel in response to the latest data from one of its two remaining rare disease candidates.

Newly merged manufacturers Meridian, Kindeva invest $100M in Missouri site

Five months after merging, manufacturers Kindeva Drug Delivery and Meridian Medical Technologies are expanding their capabilities in Missouri. In a $100 million investment over four years, Meridian plans to convert its newly purchased building in Bridgeton to increase production of drug-device combination products with added fill-finish capability.
 
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'Podnosis': Medicaid's outlook as redetermination gets underway, and how stakeholders can tackle colorectal cancer

This week on "Podnosis," we discuss Medicaid redeterminations and the long-term outlook for the misunderstood program. We also talk about colorectal cancer and what stakeholders can do to tackle this disease.
 

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