WELCOME TO FIERCE LIFE SCIENCES WEEKLY DIGEST The hype for a potentially record-setting pharma megamerger didn’t last. AstraZeneca has already walked away from a marriage with Gilead, after the news of an informal approach leaked just the day before. Still, Gilead doesn’t seem interested in selling—its share price has climbed about 17% with remdesivir’s developments against the coronavirus. AstraZeneca, meanwhile, aims to launch a phase 1 trial of its COVID-19 antibody within the next two months—and also appears on our list of the top 10 R&D budgets of 2019, which together spent $82 billion in their hunt for new therapeutics last year. Those stories, plus our top reads of the week, follow below. | |
|
Featured Story | Tuesday, June 9, 2020 The excitement over a potential record-setting megamerger between AstraZeneca and Gilead Sciences looks short-lived. The British pharma has already ditched its interest in a marriage with the U.S. firm to focus on its own pipeline and COVID-19 vaccine efforts, The Times reported. read more |
| |
|---|
|
Top Stories Of The Week In 2019, the top 10 pharmaceutical R&D spenders collectively ploughed around $82 billion into their search for new drugs, diagnostics and vaccines, around $4 billion more than the previous year. EvaluatePharma has suggested that 2019 could represent a peak in R&D spend—at least as a proportion of pharmaceutical revenue. read more Friday, June 5, 2020 The FDA published a new set of validation data from five additional coronavirus antibody tests, including diagnostics that have received federal authorizations and some that have since been removed from public sale. read more Friday, June 5, 2020 Lonza recently grabbed headlines with its coronavirus vaccine manufacturing partnership with Moderna. Now, the CDMO has found Pierre-Alain Ruffieux, currently head of global pharma technical operations at fellow Swiss pharma Roche, to see the deal through. read more Tuesday, June 9, 2020 AstraZeneca is planning to start a phase 1 clinical trial of a COVID-19 antibody therapy within two months. The commitment follows the signing of a deal that grants AstraZeneca an exclusive license to six anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies identified by researchers at Vanderbilt University. read more Friday, June 5, 2020 All eyes are on a handful of drug companies after news that the U.S. is prioritizing five COVID-19 vaccine programs. But since the selections went public, experts have been raising questions about the process and the drugmakers that were left off. read more Friday, June 5, 2020 After culling a $2.6 billion biobucks pact last year, Bristol Myers Squibb is making a second and final cut to its pact with I-O biotech Jounce Therapeutics. read more Friday, June 5, 2020 Stanford bioengineers teamed up with researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to develop a CRISPR system that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 by scrambling the virus's genetic code. They believe the technology could prove useful for combating several types of viruses, including influenza. read more Friday, June 5, 2020 In December, Biogen delivered a “positive surprise” for its lupus candidate when all three doses of the drug outdid placebo at improving skin symptoms of the disease in a phase 2 trial. Now, the company is painting a fuller picture of the drug’s effects, including safety data, in patients with lupus limited to their skin. read more Tuesday, June 9, 2020 AbbVie reaps billions of dollars annually from its big-selling immunology medicine Humira, and, under deals with biosimilar makers, the drug is likely free from U.S. competition until 2023. A class of purchasers had sued over the company's defense strategy—including its so-called "patent thicket"—but a judge has now sided with AbbVie. read more Wednesday, June 10, 2020 An annual survey of pharma sales rep salaries showed another year-over-year increase, but it also revealed concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Salaries averaged more than $150,000 in 2019, for an increase of 6%. However, three-fourths of the pharma sales reps interviewed said they expect the COVID-19 crisis to negatively impact their incomes this year. read more Resources Sponsored by: ICON Download this whitepaper to learn more about the success factors that are required to keep a pandemic respiratory vaccine trial running at optimal speed and efficiency. Sponsored by: Catalent In a series of innovation sessions, Catalent RP Scherer softgel capsules were quickly identified as the ideal solution to drive incremental growth. Learn more. Sponsored by: Blue Matter, strategic consultants in the life sciences White paper describing 7 keys to success for any biopharma company that is entering (or thinking about entering) Europe. Sponsored by: Copyright Clearance Center Dive into the history of biomedical classification and how these systems have evolved to address new technology and use cases. Presented by: ICON Clinical Research Download this whitepaper to learn more about the success factors that are required to keep a pandemic respiratory vaccine trial running at optimal speed and efficiency. Sponsored by: Clinical Ink This white paper covers a Phase III case study; BYOD advantages and misconceptions; and regulatory, copyright, and equivalency considerations. Sponsored by: Clinical Ink Learn how GI specific data capture solutions can support virtual and hybrid trials during COVID-19. Sponsored by: Catalent Regardless of the assigned FDA expedited approval designation and approach, the key action items should be: the assurance of a detail-oriented plan and the adaption of a “forward-thinking” approach that will assist in any future challenges and opportunities for growth of each project. Sponsored by: Catalent Get expert insights on strategies to implement flexible manufacturing and different technologies that are easily scalable and reproducible. Sponsored by: Catalent This whitepaper discusses the benefits of end-to-end solutions and share case studies on how flexible manufacturing strategies can accommodate the changing landscape of pharmaceutical products and help bring a drug to market. 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. Sponsored by: Clarify Health Pharma launch teams spend significant resources on data and analytics with limited ROI. Read this case study to learn how a Life Sciences company identified two times more patients best suited for therapy, using Clarify’s deep and longitudinal patient and HCP insights. Sponsored by: Catalent Learn how to drive excellence within the forecasting process and utilize forecasting throughout the clinical study to better plan clinical supply budgets and project timelines. Explore how to identify potential supply-related issues before they can negatively impact your study. Sponsored by: Oracle Health Sciences Patient-facing digital technologies are playing an important role in clinical trials for new drugs and medical devices, to the point where conducting virtual trials is becoming mainstream. But terms like remote trials, direct-to-patient trials, hybrid trials, decentralized trials, and more all add to the confusion of what makes a trial "virtual." | 
