AstraZeneca announced that it has entered into an agreement with Aspen Global Incorporated (AGI), part of the Aspen Group, under which AGI will now acquire the residual rights to the established anaesthetic medicines comprising of Diprivan, EMLA, Xylocaine/Xylocard/Xyloproct, Marcaine, Naropin, Carbocaine and Citanest.
A five-year strategic research collaboration between AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm MedImmune and Ethris, a company focussed on mRNA-based therapeutics with specific expertise in pulmonary disease.
The flurry of Trodelvy developments accentuates what Gilead CEO Dan O’Day called “a time of focused execution” at the California biotech. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images) After a negative phase 3 readout, Gilead Sciences is taking a $2.4 billion impairment charge on Trodelvy, which serves as the cornerstone of the company’s solid tumor ambition. Gilead has cut the carrying value of Trodelvy to $3.5 billion in its first-quarter report, from $5.9 billion at the end of 2023, CFO Andrew Dickinson told investors during a call Thursday. The move comes after a January report of a phase 3 trial that the TROP2-directed antibody-drug conjugate failed to significantly extend the lives of patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer compared with chemotherapy. The bad news at that time caused a 10% slide in Gilead’s stock price. The write-off reflects a “smaller addressable market that Trodelvy could serve among second-line-plus metastatic non-small cell lung ...
Pfizer will offer a warranty program for its first FDA-approved gene therapy. The hemophilia B treatment will go for $3.5M, matching the price tag on CSL and uniQure’s hemophilia B gene therapy Hemgenix. (Pfizer) Ten years after dipping its toes into the gene therapy pool in a licensing deal with Spark Therapeutics, Pfizer has gained FDA approval for the acquired treatment. The U.S. regulator has endorsed Beqvez (fidanacogene elaparvovec-dzkt) for adults with the bleeding disorder hemophilia B. It becomes the first FDA-approved gene therapy for Pfizer and the second in the indication following CSL and uniQure’s hemophilia B treatment Hemgenix, which became the world’s most expensive drug at $3.5 million when it was approved in 2022. Pfizer had the chance to undercut its rival on price but decided to charge the same $3.5 million for Beqvez. The therapy will be available to patients this quarter, a spokesperson confirmed on Friday ...
Davy James The approval of AstraZeneca’s and Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) for adults with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive solid tumors adds to the drug’s approved indications in breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. The FDA has granted accelerated approval to AstraZeneca’s and Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) for adults with unresectable or metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive, immunohistochemistry (IHC) 3+ solid tumors who were previously administered systemic therapy and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.1 The regulatory action for the HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) adds to Enhertu’s approved indications in breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. “As the first antibody drug conjugate to be granted a tumor-agnostic indication, Enhertu is truly delivering on its potential across metastatic HER2-targetable tumors,” said Dave Fredrickson, executive vice president, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca, in a press release. “This approval also ...
Don Tracy, Associate Editor Treatment approved in combination with ravulizumab or eculizumab, representing minority demographic still suffering after receiving C5 inhibitor therapy for extravascular haemolysis. Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease announced that the FDA has approved Voydeya (danicopan) as an add-on therapy for the treatment of extravascular haemolysis (EVH) in adults with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), in combination with ravulizumab or eculizumab. According to the company, the medication treats patients with significant EVH despite receiving C5 inhibitor therapy. The approval was based on positive results from the Phase III ALPHA trial, which found that Voydeya improved hemoglobin levels while providing the benefit of avoiding transfusions after a primary 12-week period. Additionally, there was no significant increases reported related to safety concerns, with common adverse reactions including headache, nausea, arthralgia, and diarrhea.1 “The approval of first-in-class, Factor D inhibitor Voydeya marks an important advancement in the treatment of PNH and builds on ...
Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Voydeya (danicopan) as an add-on therapy to treat extravascular haemolysis (EVH) in adults with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH). A first-in-class, oral Factor D inhibitor, Voydeya has been developed for patients who continue to suffer from EVH despite treatment with C5 inhibitors such as Ultomiris (ravulizumab) or Soliris (eculizumab). The FDA’s decision is grounded in the positive outcomes of the ALPHA Phase III trial, which demonstrated that Voydeya met its primary endpoint of haemoglobin change from baseline to week 12, alongside all key secondary endpoints. The drug was generally well-tolerated with no new safety concerns. As part of the ALPHA double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose trial, patients were enrolled and randomised to receive Voydeya or placebo apart from their ongoing Soliris or Ultomiris therapy over 12 weeks. It aimed to assess the superiority of Voydeya as an ...
On the afternoon of March 29, the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) 2024 Annual Conference came to an end. During the four-day conference, nearly 2,000 Chinese and foreign guests from more than 60 countries and regions focused on the theme of “Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Common Responsibilities”, exchanged views on the world economy, scientific and technological innovation, social development, international cooperation and other issues, and discussed the propositions of the times together. Dr. Xuefeng Yu, Chairman and CEO of CanSinoBio, was invited to attend the forum and discussed with more than 20 medical and health experts, industry think tanks and representatives of innovative enterprises from China, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Singapore, and India on the theme of “Health without Borders – International Medical and Healthcare Cooperation. Through the development of new quality productivity, strengthen the global cooperation to eliminate health disparities and promote global ...
The European Medicine’s Agency (EMA) has granted priority medicines (PRIME) status to 89bio’s pegozafermin, a drug being evaluated to treat patients with non-cirrhotic metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) with advanced forms of fibrosis. The EMA’s PRIME scheme is designed to expedite the development of medicines that meet an unmet need, such as rare diseases. The agency upgraded the scheme last year to enhance scientific advice and regulatory package preparation for sponsors of the scheme. 89bio’s pegozafermin was granted PRIME status based on positive data from the company’s Phase IIb ELIVEN trial (NCT04929483), according to a 27 March press release. The randomised trial saw three doses of the drug administered either once weekly or biweekly in 192 patients with non-cirrhotic MASH with fibrosis (F2-F3) and MASH with compensated cirrhosis (F4). Patients in the biweekly 44mg and once-weekly 30mg treatment groups saw significant one-stage fibrosis improvement without MASH worsening. MASH resolution without worsening ...
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, ...
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