Breast cancer is the most common cancer and is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Data published between 2016 to 2018 suggests that close to 56,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the UK, mostly affecting females, and with 86% presenting with early disease. Most breast cancers have proteins (receptors). These include oestrogen receptor-positive (ER+), where breast cancers have receptors for the hormone oestrogen, and HER2-negative, where the protein is absent – human epidermal growth factor 2. Hormones, particularly oestrogen, can attach to these receptors and encourage the cells to grow. A pathologist can identify the receptors during biopsy or surgery, helping to determine treatment. Recent research has led to the development of new candidate drugs known as SERDS (selective oestrogen receptor degraders). These drugs are designed to attach to and disrupt these oestrogen receptors, preventing the growth of cancer. A new SERD molecular entity, ...
Up to 20% of prostate cancer cases are classified as castration-resistant AstraZeneca (AZ) and Merck & Co – known as MSD outside the US and Canada – have announced that the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has approved Lynparza (olaparib) in combination with abiraterone and prednisone or prednisolone to treat adult patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Affecting around one in ten men in Scotland, approximately 10% to 20% of prostate cancer cases are classified as castration resistant, evolving to resist androgen deprivation therapy, the standard of care. mCRPC occurs when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, which is challenging to treat and results in a poor prognosis. The SMC’s decision was based on results from the phase 3 randomised, double-blind PROpel trial, which evaluated the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Lynparza versus placebo when given in addition to abiraterone in men with mCRPC who had ...
Ascentage Pharma (6855.HK), a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in developing novel therapies for cancer, age-related diseases, and chronic hepatitis B (CHB), announced today that the latest results from three preclinical studies of the company’s novel drug candidates olverembatinib, MDM2-p53 inhibitor alrizomadlin, FAK/ALK/ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor APG-2449, and EED inhibitor APG-5918, have been selected for presentations at the 2024 American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting (AACR 2024). These abstracts are now available on the AACR’s official website. The AACR annual meeting is one of the world’s largest and longest-standing scientific gatherings in the field of cancer research. Covering some of the most cutting-edge advances in all the areas of oncology research and innovation, the annual event attracts tremendous interest from the global cancer research community. This year’s AACR annual meeting will be held from April 5-10 2024, in San Diego, California, USA. These three preclinical abstracts from Ascentage Pharma include: ...
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has announced that all ten pharmaceutical manufacturers taking part in the Medicare drug price negotiations have submitted counteroffers. The announcement comes after the HHS sent initial offers on 1 February in an ongoing effort to lower drug prices in the US as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and negotiations will continue over the next several months. First selected last August, the ten medicines subject to the first round of Medicare pricing negotiations included therapies for diabetes, heart failure, immunological disorders and cancer, as well as anticoagulants. The medicines selected included Bristol Myers Squibb/Pfizer’s Eliquis (apixaban), Novartis’ Entresto (valsartan/sacubitril), AstraZeneca’s Farxiga (dapagliflozin), AbbVie/Johnson & Johnson’s Imbruvica (ibrutinib), Eli Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance (empagliflozin), and Johnson & Johnson’s Stelara (ustekinumab) and Xarelto (rivaroxaban). According to the HHS, collectively, the drugs were ...
Recently, Anrotinib Hydrochloride Capsules and anti-PD-L1 “Behmosubaisumab (TQB2450 Injection)” developed by Zhengda Tianqing have submitted a new indication application to the Center for Drug Evaluation of the State Drug Administration (CDE), which has been accepted, with the indications of non-microsatellite patients who have previously failed to receive or cannot tolerate the first- or second-line chemotherapy regimens. Recurrent or metastatic endometrial cancer that is not microsatellite highly unstable (non-MSI-H) or non-DNA mismatch repair defective (non-dMMR), or intolerant. Bemosumab is an innovative, fully humanized anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody with a new sequence developed by AstraZeneca.In April 2022, Bemosumab in combination with amrutinib hydrochloride capsules for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic endometrial cancer was included in the Breakthrough Therapeutic Classification by the CDE.In January 2023, Bemosumab’s application for marketing in the first-line treatment of recurrent or metastatic endometrial cancer in combination with amrutinib hydrochloride capsules was formally accepted by the CDE.The application was ...
BMS has reported its results for the 2023 financial year (FY), revealing a 2% decrease in revenues of $45bn from $46.2bn reported in 2022. The company saw a decrease in sales of Revlimid (lenalidomide) following the entry of generic versions after its patent loss in 2022. Revlimid generated $6bn in 2023, compared to $12.9bn in 2021 before the loss. BMS’ blockbuster cancer drug Opdivo generated $9bn in 2023, a 9% increase from 2022. The human IgG4 anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody saw a label expansion, as well as increased demand from patients with gastric, bladder, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and melanoma. BMS’ top-seller is anti-stroke drug Eliquis (apixaban), generating $12.2bn in 2023, however, Eliquis loses its patent in 2026, with GlobalData predicting that sales will drop to $3bn by 2029.In a strategic move to counteract anticipated revenue declines from upcoming patent expirations on certain BMS drugs in the next few years, ...
The US’ HHS has sent the first offers to participating drug companies eligible for negotiation under the Medicare price negotiation programme as required by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is managing these talks, with a 30-day window given to involved drug companies to indicate acceptance of the suggested prices or present an alternative offer. Once both Medicare and the drug company agree on a price, the revised prices will become effective within Medicare in 2026.The IRA allows Medicare to directly negotiate to reduce prescription prices for certain drugs and requires certain companies to pay rebates back to Medicare if the drug prices exceed the rate of inflation. The first ten drugs selected to be negotiated in the programme include those marketed by pharma giants AstraZeneca and Merck & Co’s anti-diabetic drugs, Farxiga (dapagliflozin), and Januvia (sitagliptin), respectively. In the announcement accompanying the offers, CMS administrator Chiquita ...
Drug shortages are continuing to persist in the UK affecting patients with different conditions, including those with type-2 diabetes who are on GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs). Earlier this month, NHS England issued a National Patient Safety Alert regarding the shortage of GLP-1Ras. This was following a similar one issued in July 2023, which stated and that supplies were unlikely to stabilise sufficiently to meet market demand until at least mid-2024. In response to the January alert, the Diabetes UK issued a statement saying such shortages were being seen globally due to an increase in off-label use of semaglutide for weight loss. The alert issued actions to be taken by healthcare workers, such as only prescribing GLP-1 RAs for their licensed indications, and prescribing Rybelsus, another form of the GLP1RA semaglutide, for new treatment initiations and for those patients who can be switched from AstraZeneca’s Byetta (exenatide) and Novo Nordisk’s ...
Gilead Sciences said even though Trodelvy missed the main goal of its Phase 3 test in non-small cell lung cancer, the drug’s preliminary results show numerical improvement in patients whose disease did not respond to prior treatment with immunotherapy. The company plans to discuss with regulators a possible path forward in these patients. By FRANK VINLUAN Sales for Gilead Sciences cancer drug Trodelvy are growing, but the company is counting on additional approvals to boost the product to blockbuster status and justify the premium price it paid to acquire the therapy. The drug’s failure in a pivotal lung cancer study is a setback to that strategy. Treatment with Trodelvy, an antibody drug conjugate (ADC), fell short of a Phase 3 study’s main goal of showing statistically significant improvement in overall survival in patients with advanced cases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), Gilead announced Monday. Nevertheless, the company pointed to numerical ...
After crowning Keytruda as the first immunotherapy for advanced cervical cancer back in 2021, the FDA has awarded the drug another industry-first designation in an earlier stage of the tumor type. But again, the achievement was not perfect for Merck. Thanks to a new FDA nod, Merck’s Keytruda is the first PD-1 drug to be approved in combination with chemoradiotherapy to treat patients with stage 3 to 4a cervical cancer, the New Jersey pharma giant said Friday. This marks Keytruda’s 39th indication in the U.S. The approval, however, was narrower than expected. It came on the back of results from the Keynote-A18 trial, which showed a tumor progression benefit for the Keytruda-chemoradiation regimen in a broader patient population with earlier-stage cervical cancer. Keynote-A18 tested the Keytruda combo in patients whose cancer was as early as stage 1b2. Among the entire trial population, adding Keytruda to chemoradiotherapy slashed the risk of ...
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