Eisai's lecanemab linked to patient death: STAT

Today's Big News

Oct 28, 2022

In wake of bempeg blowup, Sanofi rethinks $2.5B bet on IL-2 after midphase efficacy falls short

Quantum's high-stakes hypertension phase 3 fails, tanking stock and ending cardiology work

Eisai's Alzheimer's hopeful lecanemab may have contributed to patient death: report

Mereo signs cease-fire with activist investor, hands over 4 board spots

Blood-brain barrier no barrier to testing diabetes drugs in Alzheimer's

'The Top Line': What went down on Biogen's earnings call, AstraZeneca's prospects after its CTLA-4 approval

Chutes & Ladders—Frazier departs Merck after 30 years

 

Featured

In wake of bempeg blowup, Sanofi rethinks $2.5B bet on IL-2 after midphase efficacy falls short

The dream of taming IL-2 keeps slipping further away. After seeing Bristol Myers Squibb and Nektar Therapeutics give up on their candidate, Sanofi has reported “lower than projected” efficacy data on its prospect and rethought its plans for the molecule.
 

Top Stories

Quantum's high-stakes hypertension phase 3 fails, tanking stock and ending cardiology work

Vultures are circling Quantum Genomics. A high-stakes phase 3 hypertension readout has gone against the French biotech, prompting it to stop work on firibastat in cardiology and reallocate its remaining 11 million euros ($11 million) to other projects.

Eisai's Alzheimer's hopeful lecanemab may have contributed to patient death: report

A new STAT News investigation has found that Eisai's experimental Alzheimer's drug lecenemab may have contributed to a patient's death, according to documents obtained by the outlet. The Japanese pharma acknowledged the death but wouldn't divulge specific details citing patient privacy.

Mereo signs cease-fire with activist investor, hands over 4 board spots

An increasingly bitter conflict between biotech and investor has come to a close, with Mereo BioPharma losing out to Rubric Capital Management and handing the activist investor four spots on its board.

Blood-brain barrier no barrier to testing diabetes drugs in Alzheimer's

Evidence is growing that insulin resistance drives Alzheimer’s development, and several medications used to treat diabetes are in clinical trials to see if they can combat the condition. Now, new findings about the way insulin is delivered to the brain suggest that it’s worth looking into a broader range of diabetes drugs than previously thought.

'The Top Line': What went down on Biogen's earnings call, AstraZeneca's prospects after its CTLA-4 approval

This week on “The Top Line,” we dig into rumors of a shaky relationship between Biogen and Eisai. We also chat about AZ’s ability to finally tout the approval of an asset that’s seen many failures over the years.

Chutes & Ladders—Frazier departs Merck after 30 years

Frazier is leaving Merck after 30 years, handing the executive chairman role to CEO Davis. GSK's vaccine chief is departing amid a restructuring of the medicine and vaccine units. CRISPR development head Klein leaves as the company nears its first regulatory filing.

Dexcom 'very confident' about G7 sensor's upcoming FDA approval, early 2023 US launch

Months after its G7 continuous glucose monitor landed European approval in March—leading to a wide-scale rollout of the sensor across the continent earlier this month—Dexcom is zeroing in on the U.S. market.

EMA cracks down on JAK inflammatory disease drugs, limiting AbbVie's Rinvoq and more on safety risks

Over a year after the FDA’s dreaded boxed warning addition and treatment line demotion, the JAK inhibitor class of inflammatory disease drugs has gotten its uses restricted by European regulators as well out of safety concerns.

CMS gives nursing homes a longer leash on staff COVID-19 vaccination requirements

CMS said it was loosening vaccination requirements and noncompliance citation severity for certain healthcare facilities due to "relatively low" COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths across the nation.

Endo plays it straight with new Peyronie's disease smartphone self-awareness tool

Endo has certainly captured the public's imagination with its Peyronie's disease (PD) campaigns before—think wonky veg—but this time, it’s playing it straight.

Fierce Pharma Asia—Sumitomo's Myovant buy; Astellas-Taysha gene therapy pact; Trade secret theft sentencing

Sumitomo has persuaded Myovant into an acquisition that values the latter at $2.9 billion. Astellas is doubling down in gene therapy with a $50 million investment in Taysha Gene Therapies. A couple in a trade secret theft case involving Roche's Genentech and Taiwanese firm JHL Biotech have received six months in prison. And more.
 
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'The Top Line': What went down on Biogen's earnings call, AstraZeneca's prospects after its CTLA-4 approval

This week on “The Top Line,” we dig into rumors of a shaky relationship between Biogen and Eisai. We also chat about AZ’s ability to finally tout the approval of an asset that’s seen many failures over the years.
 

Resources

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The Faster Path From Pre-Filled Syringe to Auto-Injector

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Scaling life sciences companies: Discover resources to support growth and innovation

Read through this library of resources to find out how you can strengthen innovation and efficiency, improve safety and quality, and prioritize resources to support your long-term goals.

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Softgel Formulation Enables Oral Delivery of Testosterone

Clarus Therapeutics (Clarus) is a men’s specialty pharmaceutical company that partnered with Catalent to develop a unique and convenient drug delivery form for their hormone replacement therapy.

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Orally Inhaled & Nasal Drug Delivery: A Pipeline of Opportunities

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

 

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