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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

FDA's Hahn defends pace of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine review

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, M.D., has defended the pace of the review of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on the grounds that a thorough assessment is needed to reassure a skeptical public. 

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Top Stories

Merck KGaA pens major cancer drugs biobucks pact with DNA damage biotech Artios Pharma

Germany’s Merck is signing up to a small upfront but potentially huge biobucks pact with U.K.-U.S. biotech Artios.

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AbbVie pays Frontier $55M to pursue hard-to-drug targets

AbbVie has teamed up with Frontier Medicines to develop molecules against hard-to-drug targets. The collaborators will use Frontier’s technology for uncovering hidden binding pockets to develop protein degraders and small molecules against oncology and immunology targets. 

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Sponsored: Biotech IPOs: New Steps to Success on the Road to Going Public

2020 is on track to post the highest number of biotech IPOs in five years. But the pandemic and today’s shifting market have rewritten the rulebook. What are the new best practices for going public?

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In a first, Janssen submits lung cancer bispecific hopeful amivantamab to the FDA

Janssen has sent off its mutation-specific non-small cell lung cancer drug amivantamab to the FDA.

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4D hires a trio of area heads as it ramps up its gene therapy pipeline

4D Molecular Therapeutics raised $75 million in June to get several gene therapy programs into and through the clinic. Now, it’s adding a trio of executives to spearhead its work in heart, eye and lung diseases as it looks to shepherd treatments in those focus areas forward.

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Zimmer Biomet picks up chest surgery toolmaker A&E Medical for $250M cash

Zimmer Biomet has signed a deal to buy A&E Medical, maker of open chest surgery tools, for $250 million in cash. Separately, the company launched a new charitable foundation, and started a partnership with the NAACP in support of its public health and justice efforts.

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Who's your pick for the next FDA chief? Nominate now, start voting next week

Before President-elect Biden announces his own choice for FDA commissioner, Fierce Pharma wants to know what readers think. Who's the best man or woman to be the nation’s next top drug regulator? Nominate your picks for our bracket and stop by to vote starting Monday.

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Resources

Whitepaper: COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trials in Children: Challenges on the Horizon

Understanding the Challenges COVID-19 Pediatric Clinical Trials Face | White Paper

Whitepaper: Enabling Fast And Appropriate Drug Product Supply for Phase 1 Clinical Trials

Lack of resources to move from lab concept to the manufacture/delivery of GMP clinical supplies to patients, key milestones can be missed.

Article: Process development and scale-up of pluripotent stem cell manufacturing

Human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have huge potential to produce cell therapies for many clinical areas. Here we describe a controlled, automated, and defined manufacturing process to fuel demand.

Whitepaper: The Future of Pharmacovigilance

Download the whitepaper to learn how your safety organization can implement automation technologies to enable process and cost efficiencies, improve resource allocation and ensure compliance and quality.

Report: New research indicates an accelerated shift to decentralized clinical trials

New research indicates an accelerated adoption of decentralized clinical trials due to COVID-19.

Research Report: 2020 North America Customer Reference Data Survey

New industry-wide research reveals that the quality and breadth of HCP data is imperative as commercial teams adjust to remote engagement and execute a tailored approach. Read the full report to see all findings and benchmark your organization’s progress.

Whitepaper: Survey Reveals Demand for Clinical Trial Innovation in the Wake of COVID-19

The BBK Worldwide Study Voices 2020 survey gives voice to the healthcare consumer in the wake of COVID-19 and reveals important insights for clinical trial enrollment and engagement.

eBook: Mass Spectrometry-based Host Cell Protein Analysis in Biologics Development

Download this eBook and Learn the Advantages of LC-MS based HCP Profiling for Development of Complex Biologics.

Webinar: Using SPOT™ & CHO-BC® During Cell Line Development for Titers up to 9 g/L

Innovative cell lines and early process development are critical to generate a high producing cell lines alongside a USP strategy to meet high quality standards.

Research: Premier Research Resource Hub

Browse the latest learnings and insights from our clinical development professionals.

Infographic: Reducing Time to Clinic for Your Biomedical Applications

This infographic describes the benefits of GelMA in various biomedical applications and how X-Pure® GelMA can help you in your developments.

Whitepaper: Liquid-Filled Capsules for Highly Potent Drug Compounds

Liquid-filled hard capsule formulations offer unique options for the manufacture and dosing of highly potent actives.

Whitepaper: 6 API Challenges That Could Slow Your Development & How to Avoid Them

One of the best ways to stay on-schedule is to start with a solid understanding of the most common API challenges. Awareness will help you choose a development partner with the ability to solve issues before they affect your timeline.

Whitepaper: Gene and Cell Therapy: Planning for Manufacturing Success Early

Gene and cell therapy organizations are asked to balance the need for rapid clinical progression and stringent quality expectations throughout development. In this document, Aldevron provides an in-depth look at preparing for plasmid manufacturing based on our years of experience.

Whitepaper: Companies Need An Effective Remote Workforce Cloud Strategy To Survive

A sound Cloud Strategy provides the flexibility and tools businesses need to quickly adapt and operate securely in an ever-changing remote work environment. Learn how your company can cost-effectively empower its employees to be productive and secure while working remotely.

eBrief: Drug Product Process Development: Ensuring a Consistent, High-quality Biologic

Learn about drug product process development challenges and risks, the difference between innovator and biosimilar drug product process development, and more during the drug product process development phase.

Q&A: Planning Successful Launches

Learn about proven strategies for a successful product launch, including cross-functional team collaboration, risk management and using the right project management tools.

eBook: CMC Considerations for Successful Early Drug Development

This eBook provides insights on key approaches and considerations for preparing your drug development program for long-term success.

Webinar: Phase Appropriate Expertise and Technologies to Accelerate Product Development to Commercialization

In this webinar, pharmaceutical scientists present real-life examples of challenges they’ve overcome in the transfer of oral small molecules from a dedicated early-phase development site to a dedicated late-phase manufacturing site.

Whitepaper: Why Your Business Needs a Ransomware Strategy To Avoid Being Hacked!

Cybercriminals Are Actively Exploiting The Coronavirus Pandemic To Gain Entry To Enterprise Networks. Don’t Let Your Company Become The Next Ransomware Headline -- Make These Changes Now!

Whitepaper: Achieving a Successful Drug Product Technology Transfer

Get insights on key considerations for a successful tech transfer process for manufacturing a biologic drug product, including a case study on overcoming challenges in a process transfer for a sterile diluent.

Executive Summary: Keys to a Successful Rapid Commercial Launch

Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are spending years developing drugs or promising new biologics, all with the hopes of saving or enhancing patients’ lives. It’s a “race to the finish” in some cases, and the quicker a company can get its product to patients, the better.

Whitepaper: The Art of Recognizing Clinical Supply Risk Factors

In a BioPharma Dive industry survey, planning and forecasting were identified as top concerns for trial sponsors. In response to this need, the CSM team at Catalent has developed a methodology for identifying, evaluating, and proactively managing the inherent risks involved in clinical trial supply chain management.

Case Study: Establishing Parameters for Success

Learn about a real-world example of how clinical supply management expertise was applied to overcome inventory challenges for a complex, global study.

Fact Sheet: Forecasting to Optimize Clinical Trial Supply Management

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.

eBook: Expecting the Unexpected: Strategies for Efficient Clinical Supply Management and Forecasting

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.

Events