Most profitable insurers in Q2
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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

'Litany of false promises': Pharma bemoans drug pricing bill as patient advocates celebrate

The seemingly unstoppable pharma lobbying power has lost its charm. As the U.S. Senate opens the door to a major drug pricing reform with passage of a new bill, the drug industry is licking its wounds.

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Top Stories

GSK bets $1.3B on Mersana’s preclinical ADC and chance to expand portfolio beyond Blenrep

GSK has paid out $100 million cash to Mersana Therapeutics for the potential to add a second antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) to its pipeline. The new deal encompasses XMT-2056, Mersana’s preclinical ADC aimed at treating a range of HER-2 cancers.

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Which insurer was most profitable in Q2? The answer won't surprise you

Another quarter is on the books for major national insurers, and the most profitable company through the first six months of this year isn't likely to be a surprise.

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FDA clears AI software for spotting prostate cancer in MRI scans

Bot Image’s ProstatID program recognizes and measures the volume of the prostate gland and highlights suspicious lesions that could be harboring tumor cells.

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Eli Lilly says Indiana's abortion ban will force it to hire more outside the state

Despite Indiana's inability to reach a consensus on the issue of abortion, the state "opted to quickly adopt on the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the United States,” Eli Lilly said over the weekend. Now, the company is warning of its economic consequences.

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Senate Democrats pass major healthcare deal that includes drug price reforms

The Senate on Sunday passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes major reforms to drug prices and extends ACA subsides by three years.

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Genentech didn't get it right on diversity for critical Graduate Alzheimer's program. They're trying again

Roche's Genentech unit tried and failed to recruit a diverse population for its critical late-stage Alzheimer's disease program for gantenerumab. They're trying again, armed with lessons learned.

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AbbVie invests big to retain leader position in TV ad spending and Botox makes a surprise appearance on top-10 list

AbbVie’s autoimmune blockbuster Rinvoq spent a second month leading the highest pharma TV ad spend as its battle with Sanofi’s Dupixent, a fierce rivalry, continues. Spend on Dupixent TV ads had topped iSpot’s top 10 in April and May, but AbbVie came roaring back to first place in June and is in the top spot once again for July.

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The most significant FDA citations of 2021-2022

Given the nature of warning letters and 483s as well as the dangers tied to manufacturing snafus, it doesn't make sense to rank worst offenders. Instead, we're providing a glimpse of FDA write-ups that are significant for different reasons. 

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Clovis, in need of cash or deals now to stem looming financial challenges, looks to pipeline for ideas

Clovis Oncology needs cash—and fast. And so the company is making an appeal for some sort of deal or additional capital to ensure it can continue beyond February 2023 “as a going concern.”

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Koneksa to study if AI smartwatch data can predict Parkinson’s disease progression

Koneksa's latest grant is its second from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in as many months.

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In historic FDA nod, AstraZeneca, Daiichi’s Enhertu snags ultrafast approval in broad HER2-low breast cancer use

Thanks to a landmark FDA approval, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's Enhertu has become the first therapy targeted to treat HER2-low breast cancer. Apparently impressed with the drug's benefits, the FDA is doling out a broad range of use.

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New York distributing bonuses to 'hands-on' healthcare workers statewide—here's who's eligible for up to $3,000

The newly launched program will be available to those earning base salaries below $125,000 and require workers to stick to their posts for six months. The governor's office characterized the payments as a thank you and an attempt to head-off labor shortages straining the industry.

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Pfizer’s $5.4B GBT buy adds potential sickle cell disease ‘cure’ and former Sanofi candidates

The $5.4 billion Pfizer coughed up to acquire Global Blood Therapeutics was worth it to get the Big Pharma’s hands on a pipeline of exciting sickle cell disease treatments, if analysts’ predictions are anything to go by. And those gains will come well before GBT’s preclinical pipeline, from the likes of Sanofi, enter the clinic.

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Dentsply Sirona continues internal investigation into financial reporting practices

It’s been several months since Dentsply Sirona launched an investigation into some potentially fishy financial reporting dating back to the second half of 2021—leading to a delay in its quarterly financial reports, a warning from the Nasdaq and the resignation of its former CFO just two days after he took on the same post at Moderna.

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AbbVie continues with ‘extreme’ sporting Rinvoq TV ad theme as it runs ulcerative colitis commercial

It’s a year of high-octane ads for AbbVie and its Rinvoq campaign, as the company launches a new TV commercial that once again tries to push the limits. In June, it ran an ad known simply as “Helicopter” for eczema use. That followed on from "Mission: Motorcycle" in arthritis. The latest ad, for ulcerative colitis, is not letting up on the manic marketing, either.

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MIT engineers develop shape-shifting artificial pancreas that brushes off the immune system’s rejections

Researchers at MIT have developed a method that could be used to ensure long-lasting diabetes implants do not trigger an immune response, allowing them to keep working without being rejected by the body.

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Resources

Whitepaper: End-to-end support for your asset's commercialization

The TrialCard/Triangle Insights Group platform is uniquely positioned to support you as your asset progresses through the value chain, by integrating strategic commercialization and market access insights with comprehensive patient and provider support services.

Whitepaper: Genetic Insights for Biopharmaceuticals

See how integration of innovative genetic analysis techniques into drug development is driving biopharma & biotech companies ahead.

Whitepaper: The Most Suitable Dosage Form Technologies for the Oral Delivery of Lipid-Based Formulations

What is the most suitable dosage form technology for the Oral Delivery of Lipid-Based Formulations?

Article: Formulation Strategies When Transitioning From Vial to PFS

Learn how formulation development for a PFS affects manufacturing to drive the industry toward optimizing delivery of injectable products and, ultimately, improving patient care.

Whitepaper: Intranasal Drug Product Development: Formulation to Manufacturing

What are key considerations for intranasal delivery in the treatment of acute and chronic conditions?

Case Study: Versatility of Softgel Technology - Encapsulation of a Volatile Compound

Learn more about how the versatility of Softgel Technology helped a customer with a volatile compound.

Article: Lipid-Based Drug Delivery System to Bring Poorly Soluble Drugs to Market

How can Lipid-Based Drug Delivery System help bring poorly soluble drugs to market?

eBook: Orally Inhaled & Nasal Drug Delivery: A Pipeline of Opportunities

Carla Vozone discusses the significant trends in the OINDP segment including large molecules and novel indications, changes within CDMOs and various challenges facing the industry.

Whitepaper: Catalent Pulmonary & Nasal Delivery Capabilities Sheet

Did you know Catalent has newly expanded in-house capabilities spanning clinical and commercial scale manufacturing for DPIs, unit-dose, bi-dose and preserved multi-dose nasal sprays?

On-Demand Webinar: The Faster Path From Pre-Filled Syringe to Auto-Injector

Ypsomed and Catalent Biologics experts discuss strategies for integrated PFS manufacturing and auto-injector assembly to accelerate timelines and more in this webinar.