GSK has announced that eligible endometrial cancer patients in the UK will be granted early access to its anti-PD-1 therapy Jemperli (dostarlimab) in combination with platinum-containing chemotherapy via the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS). The EAMS aims to give patients with life threatening or seriously debilitating conditions access to medicines that do not yet have a marketing authorisation when there is a clear unmet medical need. The combination has been specifically indicated to treat adults with mismatch repair deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer who are candidates for systemic therapy. Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecological cancer in the UK, with approximately 10,000 new cases reported each year. While it often has a better prognosis than other womb cancers if diagnosed early, patients with advanced or recurrent disease face limited treatment options and a poor prognosis. The positive scientific opinion from the Medicines and ...
Biopharma companies, including Sanofi, AbbVie and Virax Biolabs, are finding significant business opportunities in the Middle East, particularly in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. These countries have emerged as attractive markets for novel therapies, driven by growing populations with increasing incidences of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The Middle East is emerging as a key healthcare market, with an increasing demand for innovative healthcare solutions, particularly after the region struggled to meet the challenges brought on by the pandemic, said Cameron Shaw, chief operating officer for Virax Biolabs, which recently made a deal to set up a regional headquarters in the Dubai Science Park in the UAE. “The UAE was hit very hard by the COVID pandemic, similarly to how everyone in the world was affected,” Shaw told BioSpace. This is partly due to the high prevalence of diabetes and obesity in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, he ...
The European Medicines Agency has identified risks of self-harm and suicidal ideation that could potentially be linked to Novo Nordisk’s medications containing the active ingredients semaglutide and liraglutide. The potential risks were first identified by the Icelandic Medicines Agency, according to a CNN report, citing the EMA. Iceland’s regulator documented one case of suicidal ideation in a patient who had taken the diabetes drug Ozempic (semaglutide) and another after using the weight-loss medicine Saxenda (liraglutide). A third incident involving thoughts of self-harm was also detected in a patient who was receiving Saxenda. The Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), the EMA’s main group responsible for assessing and monitoring the safety of drug products, has put both treatments under review. The committee is also evaluating whether it will need to extend the review to other products in this drug class, according to CNN. This class, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, include Novo’s Wegovy, Victoza, and Rybelsus, as well as ...
Relative abundance (%) of the 10 most abundant genera/families in the different sample types and countries. The values are based on the average of similar sample types within each country. The number of samples (N) representing each bar is written in parentheses after the sample type. There were no sponges or cloths from Hungary (marked NA in the figure). Bacteria found in 74 kitchens spread among five European countries were mostly harmless according to new research published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. “We have previously found considerable variations in kitchen standards, food preparation practices, and cleaning regimes between France, Norway, Portugal, Romania and Hungary,” said Birgitte Moen, Ph.D., Scientist—Department of Food Safety and Quality, Nofima—Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research, Ås, Norway. In the study, the researchers sampled bacteria populations from sinks, cutting boards, countertops, handles and cleaning utensils—sponges and cloths—used in kitchens. Despite large numbers of species and considerable differences ...
The FDA has placed a clinical hold on Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals’ investigational HEMO-CAR-T, which is being trialed for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the UK-based biotech announced Monday. In its full review letter, the FDA pointed to manufacturing problems as the reason for the regulatory pause. In particular, the regulator flagged a “splicing deficiency” that arises during the production of the lentivirus that is used to create the CAR-T cells for Hemogenyx’s candidate, according to the company’s press release. Hemogenyx has already found the source of the splicing issue and has come up with a method to solve it. CEO Vladislav Sandler said in a statement that the company is “confident” that it will “be able to address the FDA’s questions and concerns” regarding HEMO-CAR-T’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application. The company submitted its IND seeking to launch a Phase I trial for HEMO-CAR-T in May 2023. In its letter to Hemogenyx, the ...
Swiss-based Novartis announced that the US District Court for the District of Delaware has invalidated the patent covering its cardiac drug Entresto, which expires on 15 July 2025 with the associated paediatric exclusivity. The company said it will now appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) to further pursue the efforts to validate the combination patent around Entresto. A combination of sacubitril and valsartan, Entresto was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in July 2015. It is also approved to treat symptomatic heart failure with systemic left ventricular systolic dysfunction in pediatric patients. Apart from the patent which was adjudicated by the District Court, additional patents for the combinations of sacubitril and valsartan, including the drug forms and dosages, are listed to expire from November 2026 to May 2036. ...
Novavax has announced that its COVID-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid, has been granted full marketing authorisation in the EU. The vaccine is now fully authorised for use as a primary series in individuals aged 12 and older for COVID-19 prevention and as a booster dose in adults aged 18 and older, the company said. Novavax’s protein-based vaccine, which was originally granted a conditional marketing authorisation in the EU for these indications, contains the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance immune response and stimulate high levels of neutralising antibodies. The European Commission’s latest decision follows a recommendation by the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee earlier this year and is supported by positive results from the phase 3 PREVENT trial that evaluated the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of Nuvaxovid. John Jacobs, president and chief executive officer of Novavax, said: “This marketing authorisation establishes the foundation for all ...
After a Delaware federal court ruled a Novartis combination patent on big-selling cardiovascular drug Entresto is invalid, the company pledged to continue its efforts to block generics with an appeal. The combination patent, which includes an extension thanks to a pediatric exclusivity award, is set to expire in July of 2025. Other patents on the drug run until 2026, 2027 and 2036. Now, Novartis will head to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) in an effort to reverse the decision, the company said in a recent statement. The company will “continue to defend” its Entresto patents “vigorously” and warned that any generics that launch before the outcome of the appeal “may be at risk” of litigation. Currently, there are no Entresto copycats with tentative or official FDA approvals, the company noted. Just last week, the company chalked up a win against Mylan when a West Virginia court ruled that the ...
Just days after sewing up a pair of $897 million deals with Pfizer, Samsung Biologics has added a few hundred million dollars more to its partnership cash pile—this time courtesy of an expanded pact with Novartis. Monday, Samsung Bio said in a regulatory filing that it’s inked a $390.9 million deal to help crank out Novartis drugs. The latest production pact builds on an earlier Samsung-Novartis tie-up worth $81 million in June 2022. Last week, meanwhile, Samsung Bio said Pfizer had added $486 million to two biosimilar production accords the companies made in early 2023. In June, the partners signed a contract for the Korean CDMO to produce biosimilar drugs in the fields of immunology, oncology and inflammation. And in March, the companies linked up on a deal worth $193 million, according to a regulatory filing. Samsung’s Novartis deal comes in below that Pfizer deal from June. Still, the Novartis tie-up now represents ...
Pictured: Sign of U.S. Department of Health & Human Services at its headquarters in Washington/iStock, JHVEPhoto The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will now provide broader coverage for Eisai and Biogen’s Alzheimer’s disease therapy Leqembi (lecanemab), the federal agency announced Thursday. The Medicare coverage expansion comes after Leqembi won the FDA’s traditional approval, making it the first anti-amyloid and disease-altering treatment to do so. Eisai and Biogen were granted accelerated approval for Leqembi in January and soon commenced their bid for full approval with data from the Phase III Clarity-AD study. According to CMS, only patients enrolled in Medicare and with physicians participating in a qualified registry will be eligible for reimbursement—provided their doctors collect their data as real-world evidence for Leqembi and submit it to a registry. Coverage is restricted to those who are diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease dementia, with evidence of beta-amyloid deposits in the brain. “With FDA’s decision, CMS will ...
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