June 02, 2017

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Welcome to FierceLifeSci Weekly Digest, your roundup of the biggest and most popular stories from each of our publications.

Featured Story

Can Novartis' CEO resist going for a megamerger with cash from asset sales?

A series of potential asset deals could put $50 billion cash in the hands of Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez. While he has said he is looking for manageable deals, the company's pharma portfolio has gaping holes, and some analysts are getting anxious the Swiss pharma might squander its opportunity as it did when it bought Alcon, one of the operations Jimenez might unload.

Top Stories Of The Week

Johnson & Johnson commits $990M to land Protagonist’s oral Crohn’s drug

Johnson & Johnson has landed rights to Protagonist Therapeutics’ preclinical Crohn’s disease asset PTG-200. The deal gives J&J a stake in an oral interleukin-23 (IL-23) receptor antagonist in return for $50 million upfront and up to $940 million in milestones.

New FDA commissioner Gottlieb unveils price-fighting strategies

During the campaign and since the U.S. presidential election, President Donald Trump has pledged to bring down drug costs and, in some cases, railed against the industry for its pricing. Now, his new FDA commissioner is laying out some approaches the agency will take to fight high prices.

Kite gets FDA priority review for KTE-C19, putting it 2 months behind Novartis in race for CAR-T market

Kite Pharma has secured a priority review at the FDA for its CAR-T candidate. The shaving of four months off the review time tees Kite up to secure approval by the end of November, two months after Novartis is expected to get the all-clear to start selling its rival CAR-T therapy.

AstraZeneca’s ASCO pledge? Be a better social media citizen

AstraZeneca changed its social media strategy for this year’s ASCO meeting, promising to do a better—and broader—job tweeting and posting from the conference.

Using CRISPR gene editing to slow cancer growth

The gene editing technology CRISPR/CAS9 is being used to develop a host of new treatments, mostly for genetic diseases. But a team of researchers from the University of Rochester's Center for RNA Biology are investigating whether gene editing can be used for another purpose: to slow the growth of cancer cells.

Merck & Co. invests $310M, adds 330 jobs to biologics facilities in Ireland

Merck & Co., which beefed up its biologics operations in Ireland last year, said it will do so again, investing more than $310 million to expand two sites with plans to add 330 jobs in the process. One of the sites does some of the work on its runaway immuno-oncology success Keytruda.

Medical device industry 'not doing enough on cybersecurity'

The medical device industry appears to be under siege by cybercriminals, but it isn't taking steps to defend itself, according to two separate reports.

Pfizer’s Trumenba to challenge GlaxoSmithKline's Bexsero with EU nod

Meningococcal group B vaccine Bexsero has been helping drive revenue growth for GlaxoSmithKline, but now, with a European approval, Pfizer’s Trumenba is set to challenge it in that lucrative market.

Eisai, Charles River double down on drug discovery pact

Eisai and partner Charles River have clearly enjoyed their two-year R&D deal, as the pharma-CRO pair have signed up to extend that partnership for another year.

Resources

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