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August 09, 2019

Zolgensma, the world’s most expensive drug, is causing fresh headaches for Novartis. Before, its $2.1 million sticker price left payers apprehensive about covering the gene therapy. Now, the FDA has revealed manipulated data in its original application—and that Novartis knew of the issue two months prior, but did not notify the agency until one month after it was approved. CEO Vas Narasimhan defended the company’s choice to complete an internal review before alerting regulators, and while the FDA says Zolgensma should stay on the market, it warned it will exercise its full authority, including civil and criminal penalties if needed.

Featured Story

FDA ready to crack down as Novartis reveals manipulated Zolgensma data

The FDA is weighing penalties for Novartis over revelations that its application for gene therapy Zolgensma contained manipulated data.

Top Stories Of The Week

Novartis CEO: 'We did the best we could' in Zolgensma data manipulation probe

Novartis faced a fresh scandal this week with revelations AveXis scientists manipulated Zolgensma data. On Wednesday, execs responded with their side of the story.

GSK offloads Ebola vaccines as testing of J&J shot ramps up

GlaxoSmithKline has licensed Ebola vaccines to the Sabin Vaccine Institute. The agreement coincides with the news that Uganda has begun testing a Johnson & Johnson Ebola vaccine. 

Eli Lilly cancer chief Levi Garraway replaced by Loxo CEO Josh Bilenker (for now) as Big Pharma rings the changes

Amid a series of change-ups to its top executive team this morning, Eli Lilly has moved its biotech buy’s CEO, Josh Bilenker, into its oncology division, as Levi Garraway hits the exit.

Regeneron's Sanofi deal finally turns a profit, thanks to Dupixent

More than a decade in, Sanofi and Regeneron's antibody partnership has spawned several drugs, but it took Dupixent and its $557 million in Q2 sales to drive the tie-up to its first quarterly profit.

GlycoMimetics shares nearly cut in half as Pfizer-partnered phase 3 drug flops

Sneaking in the bad news after hours on a Friday (a Bio-Twitter bugbear) still wasn’t under the radar enough to help stop the hemorrhaging of GlycoMimetics’ shares.

AbbVie’s $63B Allergan buyout offer depends on Botox growth. But will it last?

An enduring medical aesthetics franchise, led by wrinkle-fighter Botox, is one of the key reasons AbbVie is shelling out $63 billion for Allergan. That drug has again pulled off a sales jump, though a slower growth rate suggests a tough game ahead.

Guardant’s blood test tracks microsatellite instability status on par with tissue biopsy in new study

Guardant Health’s blood test could provide an easier way to predict a cancer patient’s response to immunotherapy across multiple types of solid tumors.

Fujifilm pays Biogen nearly $1B for Denmark biologics site 

Fujifilm has sealed the deal. With the completion of an $890 million, all-cash exchange with Biogen, the CDMO is now in possession of a biologics production facility in Denmark with about 800 employees. 

How ‘duoCAR-T’ cells could clear HIV and prevent resurgence of virus reservoirs

Instead of producing one type of CAR from a patient’s T cells, as is the case with currently available CAR-T treatments for blood cancers, scientists have now designed CAR-T cells with two CAR molecules. The concept is showing promise in tackling HIV.

Resources

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[Whitepaper] The Truth about Physician Referrals and Clinical Trials

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[eBook] Small molecules 2.0: the bigger picture

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[Whitepaper] IoT Technologies & Informatics Integration in Pharmaceuticals

Find out in this article how your pharmaceutical organization can leverage IoT technologies and informatics integration to innovate and improve overall operational efficiencies.

[Case Study] Clinical Supply Management

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[Video] Demand Led Services and Clinical Supply Efficiency

Watch a short video on demand led supply model. It is designed to meet the needs of patients, clinical sites, clinical team and sponsors and results in shorter lead time, less waste, less stock out risk and no booklet labels.

[eBook] Strategies for Efficient Clinical Supply Management and Forecasting

Download the eBook to explore a proactive approach for clinical supply management.