Five pharmaceutical companies have been fined €13.4m ($14.1m) by the European Commission as part of an antitrust cartel settlement revolving around a key ingredient for the antispasmodic drug, Buscopan. The European Commission (EC) has confirmed that Alkaloids of Australia, Alkaloids Corporation, Boehringer, Linnea, and Transo-Pharm all admitted involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the investigation with the fine. A sixth company, C2 Pharma, was also involved in the plot but was not fined as it revealed the cartel to the EC under the leniency programme. The EC investigation revolved around N-butylbromide scopolamine/ hyoscine (SNBB), an important input material used to produce the abdominal antispasmodic drug, Buscopan, as well as its generic versions. The investigation found that the six companies had coordinated and agreed to fix the minimum sales price of SNBB to customers, as well as allocate quotas. Additionally, the six companies exchanged commercially sensitive information. In a ...
Amid a cost-cutting drive and a looming commercial threat in Europe, PTC Therapeutics is raising cash in a new royalty deal. In an agreement with Royalty Pharma worth up to $1.5 billion, PTC agreed to sell 67% of its royalty interest in the Roche-partnered spinal muscular atrophy drug Evrysdi. The deal includes an upfront payment of $1 billion, plus the option for PTC to sell its remaining royalty interest down the line for up to $500 million. As it stands, PTC will hold onto approximately 19% of its royalty interest on the drug, which it licensed to Roche’s Genentech in 2011. The deal gives PTC “added financial flexibility as we pursue our strategic objectives,” PTC’s chief Matthew Klein, M.D., said in a statement. The company recently disclosed more than 300 layoffs in New Jersey as its Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug Translarna faces a potential market withdrawal in Europe. PTC says it will use the capital to pay off its debt from Blackstone Life Sciences, which invested up ...
Roche has shared new results from a late-stage study of its anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor Alecensa (alectinib) in early-stage lung cancer. The phase 3 ALINA study has been evaluating the targeted drug as an adjuvant therapy in patients with completely resected stage 1B to 3A ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Alecensa was shown to reduce the risk of disease recurrence by 76% compared with platinum-based chemotherapy, Roche said. A clinically meaningful improvement of central nervous system disease-free survival was also observed in those receiving Alecensa, and the safety and tolerability of the therapy were consistent with previous trials in the metastatic setting. Overall survival data was immature at the time of this analysis and the company has outlined that follow-up is ongoing to “report a more mature estimate”. Levi Garraway, Roche’s chief medical officer and head of global product development, said: “By reducing the risk of recurrence or ...
The prestigious CPhI Worldwide Europe 2023 once again provided a dynamic platform for global suppliers, innovators, and pharmaceutical professionals to showcase their offerings and engage in valuable exchanges. The event, staged at the Barcelona Exhibition Center from October 24th to 26th, saw a remarkable gathering of 2,500 exhibitors and 45,000 attendees from around the globe. Amidst this impressive assembly, Drugdu.com made a notable appearance, unveiling its avant-garde digital solutions. Marking its eighth consecutive participation at the CPhI exhibition, Drugdu.com stood out with a captivating booth design that emanated vibrancy and creativity, attracting a multitude of industry experts. As a B2B platform heralding the integration of digitization in medical trade, Drugdu.com utilized this opportunity to share groundbreaking digital solutions, showcasing its profound expertise and market insight. The innovative approach was met with high acclaim and recognition from attendees, asserting a pivotal role in enhancing industry efficiency and spearheading the digital transformation ...
Patient safety and lack of autonomy are two of the biggest reasons why so many clinicians are leaving the medical field, according to a new report published by EY. Amid the clinical burnout crisis, healthcare workers have spoken candidly about their moral injury, which refers to the feeling of knowing that they aren’t able to provide patients with the quality of care they need and deserve due to workforce and resource constraints. Clinicians’ concerns about patient safety are a major factor driving their exits from the field, and this is something that has been covered extensively by the media and is well-known within the healthcare sector, pointed out Aloha McBride, EY’s global health leader, in an interview. Clinicians’ grievances about their lack of control when it comes to making decisions about their patients’ care plans is a less-discussed subject, though. For its report, EY conducted more than 100 interviews with frontline clinicians and health system executives between ...
Image Credit: Adobe Stock Images/huenstructurebio.com Daiichi Sankyo and Merck announced that they have entered into a global development and commercialization agreement for three of Daiichi Sankyo’s DXd antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates: patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd), ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) and raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd). Reportedly, the companies will jointly develop and potentially commercialize the candidates globally, except for Japan where Daiichi Sankyo will maintain exclusive rights. “The promising results from clinical trials of patritumab deruxtecan, ifinatamab deruxtecan and raludotatug deruxtecan continue to demonstrate the broad applicability of Daiichi Sankyo’s DXd ADC technology across multiple targets, with each of these medicines having the potential to change clinical practice as has been already seen with Enherti,” said Sunao Manabe, representative director, executive chairperson, CEO, Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited. “As Daiichi Sankyo continues its transformation into a global oncology leader by increasingly building our infrastructure and talent, we recognize that a collaboration with Merck, a company ...
ohnson & Johnson MedTech Worldwide Chair Tim Schmid [Photo courtesy of Johnson & Johnson] Tim Schmid is the new worldwide chair of Johnson & Johnson MedTech and EVP of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)+ following Ashley McEvoy’s announcement today that she plans to resign from the world’s second-largest medical device manufacturer.“We are pleased to have the depth of talent at Johnson & Johnson that allows us to transition to Tim, a respected, results-driven and Credo-based leader,” J&J Chair and CEO Joaquin Duato said in a news release.McEvoy called Schmid “a trusted friend and partner” in a LinkedIn post announcing her resignation. Schmid has worked for New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J for three decades, most recently serving as group chair of J&J MedTech Asia Pacific (APAC).“During his tenure, the APAC region has delivered above-market growth and further strengthened our leadership position across multiple businesses,” J&J said. “Mr. Schmid has also been instrumental in elevating the role ...
Intuitive Surgical Chief Medical Officer Dr. Myriam Curet [Photo courtesy of Intuitive Surgical] Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG)+ executives say they see benefits to their business from GLP-1 weight loss drugs, even if investors aren’t quite so sure.Intuitive’s stock slid in after-hours trading today after the company posted Q3 results that exceeded analysts’ expectations on profits but fell short on sales. Even if they had beat The Street on both counts, it’s not clear investors would have reacted any differently — just look at what happened to Intuitive’s stock price under that exact scenario after Q2.In Q2, the company said bariatric procedure growth slowed due to patient interest in weight loss drugs. Related: Analysts expect minor GLP-1 impact on insulin pumps, but a boost for CGMs“Bariatric procedures represent between four and 5% of total global procedures,” CFO Jamie Samath said on the Q3 call. “Based on third-party data, we believe we continue to gain market share in the ...
Indivior, an addiction treatment company, announced that it has reached an agreement with wholesalers to resolve their claims of suppressing competition for its opioid addiction drug, Suboxone. As a result of the agreement, the upcoming trial, scheduled for Oct 30, has been cancelled. Reportedly, Indivior will pay $385 million and will take a charge of $228 million in the third quarter, which will be excluded from adjusted earnings. “We are pleased to achieve this settlement to conclude this legacy multi-district antitrust matter,” said Mark Crossley, CEO, Indivior. “The resolution of this litigation, which was filed over a decade ago, provides greater certainty for all Indivior stakeholders and allows us to continue focusing on our important work for patients suffering from opioid use disorder and mental health illnesses around the world.”
A Formula 1 racing car is no joke. It’s purpose built, at great cost, at state of the art facilities with wind tunnels to improve aerodynamic performance and speed. The goal is simple: to win on tracks like the iconic Silverstone. It would be dangerously pointless to take an F1 car to the desert, smashing it through sand and into rocks, and expect it to perform the same. But today in healthcare, a host of new entrants and stakeholders is doing exactly that.Companies built for other businesses are attempting to offroad their skills into a brand new field. These fairweather healthcare players are unprepared for the terrain. Meanwhile, the true disruptors of this industry are already in it. When you hear newbies and big tech brands hyping AI, for example, delivered via ChatGPT, Microsoft, and others, as a way to transform healthcare, listen up. The bluster is a giveaway. Sure, ...
Go to Page Go
your submission has already been received.
OK
Please enter a valid Email address!
Submit
The most relevant industry news & insight will be sent to you every two weeks.