WELCOME TO FIERCE LIFE SCIENCES WEEKLY DIGEST The COVID-19 pandemic showed mRNA-based vaccines can be highly effective against the coronavirus—now the race begins to take on the seasonal flu. Sanofi and Translate Bio launched a phase 1 trial of their shot, leap-frogging Pfizer and Moderna—the latter of which has three influenza vaccines in development, and plans to enter the clinic this year. Meanwhile, Novavax showed its nanoparticle approach can perform just as well, if not better, but manufacturing logistics may delay it from entering the saturated U.S. market. Guess the company will have to settle for supplying the rest of the planet, which analysts describe as a multibillion-dollar opportunity for Novavax over the next five years. | |
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Featured Story | By Angus Liu In the run-up to a closely watched investor day scheduled for Wednesday, pressure is rising at GlaxoSmithKline. As CEO Emma Walmsley is slated to lay out her plan for a “new GSK,” activist investor Elliott Management is reportedly rallying support for her ouster as well as further splitting the company with an eye on hiving off the vaccines business. read more |
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Top Stories Of The Week By Nick Paul Taylor Sanofi and Translate Bio have started a phase 1 clinical trial of an mRNA vaccine for seasonal influenza. The initiation of the study puts the partners ahead of Moderna and Pfizer in the race to show mRNA vaccines are as good or better at preventing flu than existing technologies. read more By Beth Snyder Bulik Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is the new corporate sustainability yardstick. And investors are pushing ESG accountability—thanks in part to the pandemic—to the front page across industries, including pharma. read more By Kevin Dunleavy Because of development delays, Novavax should expect little uptake for its COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. But there's still a ready market globally, which the shot is well equipped to serve, GlobalData analysts report. read more By Amirah Al Idrus Gilead’s Kite unit made its name developing autologous CAR-T treatments made from a patient’s own cells. Now, the subsidiary is making another big play in off-the-shelf treatments that can be developed more quickly in a deal with Shoreline Biosciences that could exceed $2.3 billion. The partners will initially work on CAR targets for natural killer cell therapies for blood cancers. read more By Noah Higgins-Dunn Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, told President Joe Biden in a letter that interim FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock is "not the right person to lead the FDA" following the agency's controversial decision to approve Biogen's Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm. read more By Angus Liu The development of COVID-19 drugs has mostly focused on directly targeting the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. But scientists at the University of Cambridge are taking a different approach to treating the disease by looking at an infection response pathway in human cells. read more By Conor Hale After the FDA urged anyone who had Innova Medical Group’s COVID-19 antigen test to stop using it and toss it in the trash, regulators across the pond have re-reviewed and now cleared the rapid diagnostic's use, while also extended its authorization. read more By Andrea Park The medtech giant’s Hugo system was used in its first-ever patient procedure June 19, a prostatectomy performed in Santiago, Chile. read more By Fraiser Kansteiner COVID-19 production pacts have elevated the profile of numerous biopharmas during the pandemic, and that's certainly true for AstraZeneca and Novavax's partner SK Bioscience. The company is now channeling its recent momentum into a sizable manufacturing expansion at home. read more By Beth Snyder Bulik Cannes Lions awarded the pharma Grand Prix winner—highly anticipated after last year’s festival cancellation—to a non-pharma company. Woojer audio wearable company, along with its agency FCB Health’s Area 23, won for its music, tech and wearable solution for people with cystic fibrosis. read more By Arlene Weintraub Experimental anti-amyloid antibodies from Eli Lilly and Roche failed to improve symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in a phase 2/3 study, but analysis of the the trial continued. Now, the investigators at Washington University are extending the trial of Roche’s drug based on findings suggesting it may help a subset of patients. read more |  | Webinar: Five Common Mistakes in Panel Management Wednesday, July 14, 2021 | 1pm ET / 10am PT It takes time and focus to keep your panel in good health. By learning common pitfalls, this webinar will assist you in refining your panel management strategy and best practices to keep your respondents motivated and engaged. Register now. |
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