By Mariko Oi The maker of weight-loss drug, Wegovy, has become Europe’s most valuable firm dethroning the French luxury conglomerate LVMH. Shares rose after the Danish pharmaceutical giant, Novo Nordisk, launched the popular drug in the UK. At the close of trading on Monday, the firm had a stock market valuation of $428bn (£339bn). The drug is now available in the UK public healthcare system and also on the private market. Wegovy is an obesity treatment that is taken once a week which tricks people into thinking that they are already full, so they end up eating less and losing weight. Famous personalities such as Elon Musk are among the reported users of the drug, which has captivated Hollywood and the public more widely since it was approved by regulators in the US in 2021. Wegovy and Ozempic – a diabetes treatment with similar effects – have been described as ...
Amgen and Horizon Therapeutics have reached a consent order agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to resolve an ongoing administrative lawsuit. This sets the stage for Amgen to proceed with the last steps in finalising the acquisition of Horizon. In December last year, Amgen reached an agreement to acquire the complete issued and to-be-issued ordinary share capital of Horizon Therapeutics for $116.50 (€107.82) per share in cash or nearly $27.8bn on a fully diluted basis. As a result of the agreement, Amgen and Horizon anticipate submitting joint proposals to dismiss the preliminary injunction motion and lift the temporary restraining order (TRO) in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In May this year, the FTC took legal action in federal court to prevent the transaction, arguing that it would allow Amgen to leverage rebates from its successful drugs to exert influence over insurance companies and pharmacy ...
When it comes to heart failure medication, a labeling mix-up can have dire consequences. That’s why Marlex Pharmaceuticals of New Castle, Delaware, is recalling two lots of digoxin tablets at the 0.125-mg and 0.25-mg doses. The company is pulling the batches of the heart failure medication because certain bottles of 0.125-mg digoxin tablets are mislabeled with the 0.25-mg dose and vice versa. The labeling snafu could cause either overdosing of underdosing in patients who unknowingly take the wrong strength of medication, Marlex warned in a notice posted on the FDA’s website. Patients on 0.125-mg strength digoxin who take the higher dose could experience “significant drug toxicity” such as mental disorientation, dizziness, blurred vision, memory loss and fainting, the company added. Meanwhile, patients who take a subpotent dose may experience loss of control of heart rate and potential heart failure exacerbation, Marlex said. As of Thursday, Marlex said it hadn’t received ...
Sage Therapeutics will reduce its workforce by 40% following the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) rejection of its drug Zurzuvae (zuranolone) in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). The US-based company will pause some undisclosed early-stage programs and focus instead on the refinement of its compounds SAGE-718 and SAGE-324, per the 31 August announcement. Sage’s leadership will also change with the departure of the current chief scientific officer (CSO) Al Robichaud and the chief development officer (CDO) Jim Doherty. The restructuring comes at a time when the company plans the commercial launch of Zurzuvae for treating postpartum depression which is expected in late 2023. On 4 August, the FDA approved Zurzuvae’s use in women with postpartum depression while simultaneously issuing a complete response letter (CRL) for the treatment’s use in MDD. The CRL stated that the drug’s application did not provide substantial evidence of effectiveness in MDD and that ...
Drugdu.com expert’s response: Entering the European Union market requires medical device products to adhere to a series of stringent regulations and quality standards. Firstly, products must obtain CE certification, a mark that signifies compliance with EU requirements for safety, health, and environmental protection. Before submitting an application, make sure that all relevant application forms are completed in detail, including key data such as product specifications and manufacturer information. Upon passing preliminary review, the product will be sent to an EU-designated third-party certification body for comprehensive and accurate testing and evaluation. This body will assess the product’s compliance with the EU Medical Device Directive (MDD) or Medical Device Regulation (MDR), depending on the case. After successfully completing the certification process, you will receive EU export product certification, an indispensable credential proving that your product can be legally sold in the EU market. It should be noted that due to the wide variety ...
Zerva Therapeutics, formerly KemPharm, has announced a strategic acquisition of Acer Therapeutics to expand its rare therapies portfolio. The biggest Acer assets include the marketed rare therapy Olpruva (sodium phenylbutyrate formulation), and late-stage drug celiprolol. The acquisition is expected to be worth up to $91m in stock and cash payments, of which $76m is contingent upon milestone-based payments for Olpruva and celiprolol. Additionally, Zerva purchased Acer’s secured debt of more than $17m at a discounted value of $16.5m from its creditor, Nantahala Capital. The news caused Acer’s stock to skyrocket by 140% when the markets opened on 31 August. Zerva has a market cap of $165.25m, with a reported Q1 2023 revenue of $2.9m, as per the company’s financial report. Whilst Acer reported a loss of $8.1m in Q2 2023, as per the company’s Q2 financials. Olpruva is an oral suspension approved for the treatment of urea cycle disorders by ...
It is a bleak view for Outlook Therapeutics’ wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treatment plans after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected a biologic licence application (BLA) for the company’s bevacizumab-vikg candidate. Shares in Outlook Therapeutics fell a hefty 80% when the market opened on 30 August. Prior to the FDA’s complete response letter (CRL), a GlobalData consensus estimated Outlook to potentially earn $989m in 2029 if the drug was approved. GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology. Despite ONS-5010 (bevacizumab-vikg) demonstrating positive results in a trial – meeting safety and efficacy endpoints, the agency noted several manufacturing issues and the need for additional confirmatory clinical data. In a conference call on 30 August, Outlook Therapeutics’ CEO Russell Trenary said: “We are disappointed, and we were certainly not expecting to receive a CRL back from the FDA.” He added that the company believes the chemistry, manufacturing, and ...
Danish pharma company Novo Nordisk has brought in Thermo Fisher Scientific as a second manufacturer as demand for its weight-loss drug Wegovy (semaglutide) soars and amid Catalent’s production problems at a factory in Brussels, Belgium, according to reporting Wednesday by Reuters. Thermo Fisher is reportedly filling Wegovy injection pens at its factory in Greenville, NC through its CDMO subsidiary Patheon. Reuters’ source declined to be named as the information was confidential, according to the news agency, which initially reported back in May that Novo had brought on a second, then-unnamed manufacturer. The news comes after reports of difficulties with Catalent, the first manufacturer contracted by Novo to produce Wegovy. Deliveries were halted in late 2021 only months after the drug’s launch, when the FDA found issues at the Brussels syringe-filling facility. The facility was shut down again in 2022 after another inspection by the regulator found lapses. Novo ended up ...
The European Commission has approved AbbVie’s Aquipta as migraine prophylaxis for adult patients, making it the first daily oral treatment of its class to be approved in the EU for the prevention of both chronic and episodic migraines. Several calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antibodies are administered subcutaneously or via intravenous infusions. But there is a preference among patients for oral therapies, says Dawn Carlson, vice president, Neuroscience Development at AbbVie, in an interview with Pharmaceutical Technology. Lundbeck’s CGRP antibody Vyepti (eptinezumab), is administered through intravenous infusions, while Amgen’s Aimovig (erenumab) is injected subcutaneously. The approval of Aquipta is based on the results of the two Phase III studies—ADVANCE (NCT03777059) and PROGRESS (NCT03855137), which both met their primary endpoint of a statistically significant reduction in mean monthly migraine days versus placebo, per the 17 August announcement. In the PROGRESS trial, patients in the 60mg Aquipta cohort reported a 6.8-day reduction in ...
Pharmaceutical businesses face a unique challenge: they must navigate a maze of strict industry standards when marketing their products, ensuring every step aligns with industry regulations and legal requirements. While these constraints can seem daunting, digital marketing holds vast potential for these enterprises, offering myriad channels and methods to craft compelling strategies that not only resonate with potential audiences but also remain compliant. Drugdu.com has summarized five digital marketing strategies specifically for the industry: 1.Gain Attention on Search Engines Using SEO Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the cornerstone of any online digital marketing. It ensures your website or page appears in the search engine results, leading customers to you. As SEO can drive traffic to your website, it plays an indispensable role in pharmaceutical digital marketing. To stand out amongst numerous websites, optimization is key. How to achieve a good ranking in search engines? ① Optimize titles and tags ② Eye-catching ...
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