AstraZeneca is acquiring Icosavax, which has technology well-suited for multivalent vaccines. Icosavax’s pipeline includes a Phase 3-ready program that protects against two pathogens that cause severe respiratory infections in older adults. By FRANK VINLUAN AstraZeneca is already in the respiratory syncytial virus market with two products, including the drug Beyfortus, approved earlier this year. An M&A deal will give AstraZeneca an RSV vaccine candidate based on technology that could help the company compete where new vaccines are going. AstraZeneca is acquiring clinical-stage Icosavax for $800 million up front, the pharmaceutical giant announced Tuesday. Under the deal terms, AstraZeneca will pay $15 for each Icosavax share, which is a nearly 43% premium to the stock’s closing price on Monday. AstraZeneca could pay an additional $5 per share depending on the progress of Icosavax’s vaccine candidates. That payout could bring the value of the deal to $1.1 billion. The vaccines of Seattle-based ...
Effective monitoring of cancer cells is crucial for physicians in guiding treatment and managing the disease, potentially reducing cancer-related mortality. Non-invasive diagnostic platforms that measure the electrical properties of cancer cells show promise for early detection of drug resistance and metastasis in cancer. Earlier studies have found that the type of cancer and its drug resistance status can be understood from cellular permittivity and conductivity data. As a result, there is a growing need for analytical methods that can quickly measure these electrical properties of cells. Electrorotation (ROT) is one method that can capture these cellular properties by analyzing permittivity and conductivity based on how a cell moves in an electric field. This method characterizes cell types and states by profiling their frequency-dependent rotational movement under a modulated electric field. However, traditional ROT methods have limitations, primarily the cumbersome process of capturing, measuring, and replacing cells, which reduces the throughput ...
Head and neck cancer, previously linked to heavy drinking and smoking, has seen a significant shift due to human papillomavirus (HPV). In fact, HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has become the most prevalent HPV-related cancer, surpassing cervical cancer, with increasing cases globally. Despite treatments, up to 30% of head and neck cancer patients face recurrences, often due to elusive cancer cells that treatments miss. Recently, the focus has shifted to liquid biopsy for detecting cancer recurrences post-treatment. Liquid biopsies search for cancer indicators in body fluids like blood and urine. Now, a new study has found that liquid biopsy of lymphatic fluid, which is commonly thrown away post-surgery, could be key in tailoring treatments for HPV-driven head and neck cancer. The groundbreaking study by researchers at University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WUSTL, St. Louis, MO, USA) revealed that HPV ...
Recently, CanSino Biologics’ adsorbed acellular (component) diphtheria-tetanus combination vaccine (hereinafter referred to as “Tdcp for adolescents and adults”) officially launched Phase I clinical trials and completed the enrollment of the first subject. Tdcp for adolescents and adults is suitable for people aged 6 years and above. It is a booster vaccine for adolescents and adults. This randomized, blinded, controlled phase I clinical trial will initially evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine. Whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus, also known as diphtheria, are serious diseases caused by bacteria. Since the protective effect of immunity triggered by the main antigen of pertussis gradually decreases after vaccination, the incidence and mortality of pertussis gradually increase in the post-vaccination population. The domestic market is in urgent need of a DPT vaccine with longer-lasting immune protection and higher safety. Major developed countries have included this vaccine in their regular vaccination plans, but there is ...
December 1, 2023 – CanSino Biologics Inc. (“CanSinoBIO” or “the Company”) kicked off its innovative Polio VLP Vaccine Cooperation that aims to eradicate polio worldwide today as representatives from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (the foundation) visited the facility. Dr. Xuefeng Yu, Chairman and CEO, Dr. Shoubai Chao, Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Tao Zhu, Chief Scientific Officer, and Ms. Jing Wang, Chief Commercial Officer and representatives from CanSinoBIO gave warm welcome to the foundation delegation. Dr. Xuefeng Yu expressed his gratitude to the foundation for their support over the past years that enabled CanSinoBIO to play a vital role in the global polio eradication efforts. CanSinoBIO is committed to continuously focusing on this fight against the vaccine-preventable disease and make a greater impact on global public health. CanSinoBIO has been actively participating in the World Health Organization (the WHO) polio eradication strategy to eliminate the disease, and has been ...
After multiple expansion forays overseas this year, biomanufacturing outfit National Resilience is returning to its American roots with plans to beef up production and add hundreds of new jobs at a recently purchased plant in Ohio. Resilience is expanding operations at the West Chester, Ohio, facility it bought from AstraZeneca in January, the technology-focused contract manufacturer said Monday. In turn, the company expects to create some 440 new jobs with an associated annual payroll of nearly $29 million over the next three years. The project represents a partnership between Resilience, JobsOhio and Cincinnati’s Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI), the company noted. All told, the plan is set to nearly double Resilience’s current presence in West Chester, according to JobsOhio president and CEO J.P. Nauseef. In the company’s press release, Resilience’s CEO Rahul Singhvi pointed out that the West Chester site serves as the CDMO’s global center of excellence for commercial ...
A Sanofi manufacturing facility in France, which was temporarily closed five years ago for emitting dangerous emissions, is under the microscope again after a recent leak caused the release of the same neurotoxin, bromopropane. The plant, which produces epilepsy drug Depakine (sodium valproate), released 75 times the allowable amount of bromopropane in mid-November, according to a report in the French news outlet Le Monde. The facility, located in Mourenx, stopped production “immediately” after noting “inconsistent measurements” of bromopropane emissions, according to a Sanofi spokesperson. “We quickly identified that this isolated and very brief event was linked to the degradation of the treatment unit’s activated carbons following the bad weather and heavy rains that had affected the region in the preceding days,” Sanofi said. “The coals were replaced and bromopropane emissions returned to normal, enabling production to resume after approval from the authorities.” Bromopropane—which is used in the production of Depakine—is ...
Genentech’s brief leadership interregnum is coming to an end as the company’s interim chief executive, Ashley Magargee, prepares to take a permanent place on the throne. Magargee, who was tapped to temporarily steer the Roche subsidiary in November, will don the mantle of full-time CEO on Jan. 1, 2024, Genentech said Tuesday. Magargee, who most recently headed up Genentech’s commercial portfolio in addition to her interim CEO duties, is taking the place of Alexander Hardy. Hardy hit the exit back in November and now serves as CEO of BioMarin. Having served at Genentech since 2004, Magargee is no stranger to the South San Francisco-based drugmaker. In terms of her leadership pedigree, Magargee has operated in senior management positions at both Roche and Genentech across life cycle management, digital customer experience and market access, Genentech said in a release. Genentech and its Swiss parent Roche have been locked in a complicated ...
Novartis woke up one morning and hired itself a mom, putting Jamie-Lynn Sigler of The Sopranos fame at the center of a new TV spot focused on how Kesimpta empowers multiple sclerosis patients to use their time their way. Sigler, who played Tony Soprano’s daughter Meadow in the show, was diagnosed with MS aged 20 but only discussed her condition publicly almost 15 years later. At that time, the actor was taking Biogen’s Tecfidera, having previously “run the gamut” with MS drugs, but had suffered damage that prevented her from walking for long periods of time without resting and made stairs challenging. Today, Sigler is taking Kesimpta, a targeted B-cell therapy for patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis that received FDA approval shortly before Sigler first spoke about her MS diagnosis publicly. Novartis has made Sigler as the front of push to maintain the momentum of the Kesimpta launch. The ad ...
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the 2023 global health expenditure report, which sheds new light on the evolution of global health spending at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Released ahead of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day, the report reveals that in 2021 global spending on health reached a new high of US$ 9.8 trillion or 10.3% of global gross domestic product (GDP). Nevertheless, the distribution of spending remained grossly unequal. Public spending on health had increased across the world, except in low-income countries where government health spending decreased and external health aid played an essential supporting role. In 2021, about 11% of the world’s population lived in countries that spent less than US$ 50 per person per year, while the average per capita spending on health was around US$ 4 000 in high-income countries. Low-income countries accounted for only 0.24% of global health expenditure, despite having an ...
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