WELCOME TO FIERCE LIFE SCIENCES WEEKLY DIGEST After stepping down as head of Merck’s R&D late last year, Roger Perlmutter has returned to take the helm of the new biotech Eikon Therapeutics, which raised $148 million to discover new drugs by using super-resolution microscopes to observe proteins in motion. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca’s Farxiga blockbuster gained a new landmark approval in chronic kidney disease—after nabbing a first-in-class heart failure nod just last year. It’s a pill that could one day make it to our annual list of top 20 drugs by global sales, with its ups-and-downs illustrating the trends in a changing international landscape. | |
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Featured Story | By Fraiser Kansteiner AstraZeneca's diabetes med Farxiga stormed the heart failure market with a first-in-class approval last year—and in chronic kidney disease, it just left would-be rival Jardiance in the dust. read more |
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Top Stories Of The Week By Nick Paul Taylor Roger Perlmutter has taken up the CEO post at Eikon Therapeutics. The startup disclosed the hiring of the former president of Merck Research Laboratories alongside news that it has raised a $148 million series A round to apply live-cell super-resolution microscopy to drug discovery. read more By Eric Sagonowsky While the global sales rankings of Big Pharma's superstar drugs naturally feature the biggest names in the business, new meds often pop up or old drugs exit the scene. And the moves within the list from year to year illustrate many of the trends shaping pharma on a daily basis. read more By Nick Paul Taylor Pfizer has paused enrollment in a pivotal trial of its anti-BCMA bispecific antibody after seeing three cases of peripheral neuropathy in an earlier-stage study. The Big Pharma shared the news alongside details of a delay to the start of the U.S. part of its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) phase 3. read more By Fraiser Kansteiner Novo Nordisk has started the year on solid footing, thanks in no small part to its GLP-1 portfolio in Type 2 diabetes. With top earner semaglutide (approved in diabetes as Ozempic) due for a decision in obesity this June, the company is gearing up for a busy second half to the year. read more By Ben Adams A biotech with a long and often troubled past is hoping 2021 will be its year, and it’s just been handed a major tranche of cash to help make that happen. read more By Kevin Dunleavy Novavax has told the European Union that it will be ready to send COVID-19 vaccine shipments to Europe before the end of the year. That could help the biotech strike a supply agreement for hundreds of millions of doses. read more By Conor Hale While the Apple Watch has evolved from a fashionable phone accessory to a high-tech health monitor—capable of scanning for heart conditions and calling for help after injuries—future generations may tap into a deeper set of features to track the body’s inner workings. read more By Beth Snyder Bulik As the weeks turn to months on AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine filing in the U.S., the big question is when? Its answer remains the same—soon. But with so many other shots available, why bother? read more By Arlene Weintraub Pitting COVID-19 drug candidates against the virus in cell cultures doesn’t accurately predict how effective they’ll be in the human respiratory tract. Now more accurate models of the human lung airway are uncovering new treatment candidates. They include the antimalarial drug amodiaquine, which reduced viral load in animal models of the virus by 70%. read more By Fraiser Kansteiner With two new cell therapy factories on the way, Bristol Myers Squibb is looking to take its CAR-T manufacturing into the future. On one side, the company is plotting increased automation; on the other, virtual reality training that could eventually be used to work through production hitches remotely. read more Resources Sponsored By: Veeva Learn how to develop a standards program that has your full team’s buy-in and improves the efficiency and quality of your clinical trials. Sponsored By: Veeva One top 10 pharma outlines three key steps to launching a modular content strategy to generate localized content faster. Sponsored By: Blue Matter This 77-page e-book explores 7 keys to success that any biopharma company needs to keep in mind as it enters Europe. Sponsored by: Datacubed Health The average clinical trial spends $40,000 per patient. 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