AstraZeneca approached Gilead about potential merger – Bloomberg News
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) has approached U.S. rival Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O) about a possible merger that…
U.S. CDC reports 1,891,690 coronavirus cases
(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 1,891,690 cases of the new coronavirus,…
Fujifilm says COVID-19 drug research may drag on into July
FILE PHOTO: Tablets of Avigan (generic name : Favipiravir), a drug approved as an anti-influenza drug in Japan and developed…
AstraZeneca scores twin drug approvals alongside vaccine progress
(Reuters) – Britain’s AstraZeneca has clinched expanded regulatory backing for two medications, including one for blockbuster cancer treatment Lynparza, in…
Michigan, California move to reopen factories as U.S. jobless ranks grow
DETROIT/SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – Michigan and California, two U.S. manufacturing powerhouses, acted on Thursday to allow factories to reopen from…
CDC reports 1,031,659 coronavirus cases, 60,057 deaths
People wear masks as they walk past a closed beach during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Del…
Germany tries to stop U.S. poaching German firm seeking coronavirus vaccine
BERLIN (Reuters) – Berlin is trying to stop Washington from persuading a German company seeking a coronavirus vaccine to move…
Germany tries to stop U.S. from luring away firm seeking coronavirus vaccine
BERLIN (Reuters) – Berlin is trying to stop Washington from persuading a German company seeking a coronavirus vaccine to move…
Pharma firms not making enough progress against superbugs: report
LONDON (Reuters) – Drug companies are not making progress against the spread of antibiotic resistance at a scale and speed…
Explainer: Making a new generation of ‘guided-missile’ cancer drugs work
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – A class of treatments known as antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) combine cancer-tracking proteins with powerful cell toxins. The…
Drug developers take fresh aim at ‘guided-missile’ cancer drugs
FRANKFURT/ZURICH (Reuters) – Dozens of drugmakers are conducting human trials for a record 89 therapies that pair antibodies with toxic…
Novartis, Merck and Allergan join those raising U.S. drug prices for 2020
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Novartis AG, Merck & Co Inc and Allergan Plc were among companies that raised U.S. prices…
Roche enters $1.15 billion licensing deal for Sarepta gene therapy
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss drugmaker Roche is seen at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd…
Bristol-Myers wins $752 million in U.S. patent case against Gilead
FILE PHOTO: Logo of global biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb is pictured on the blouse of an employee in Le Passage,…
Biogen scraps development of therapy for rare brain disease
(Reuters) – Biogen Inc said on Friday it would discontinue the development of its experimental therapy for a rare brain…
Sarepta shares surge after surprise approval of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy drug
(Reuters) – Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (SRPT.O) soared 36% on Friday after U.S. regulators shocked Wall Street by approving…
U.S. FDA gives early approval to Sarepta’s newest DMD treatment
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seen in Silver Spring, Maryland November 4,…
Half of lymphoma patients alive three years after Gilead cell therapy treatment: study
(Reuters) – Nearly half of lymphoma patients treated with Gilead Sciences Inc’s Yescarta were alive at least three years after…
ImmuPharma licenses lupus drug Lupuzor to Avion in the United States
LONDON (Reuters) – British pharmaceutical firm ImmuPharma said on Thursday it had signed a licensing and development agreement for Lupuzor,…
Novartis’s $90 million Swiss factory to help solve cell therapy bottleneck
ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss drugmaker Novartis’s (NOVN.S) new $90 million cell and gene therapy factory in northern Switzerland is on…
CymaBay Therapeutics scraps two studies of liver drug; shares plunge
(Reuters) – CymaBay Therapeutics Inc said on Monday it was scrapping two mid-stage trials of its liver disease drug, after…
FDA approves Global Blood Therapeutics sickle cell disease drug
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it approved a drug from Global Blood Therapeutics Inc…
Novartis nears deal to buy U.S. biotech firm Medicines Co for about $7 billion: WSJ
FILE PHOTO: Switzerland’s national flag flies in front of the logo of Swiss drugmaker Novartis in Basel, Switzerland, January 30,…
Roche tests ‘brain shuttle’ in humans in Alzheimer’s project
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss drugmaker Roche is seen at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd…
Roche sets sights on Novartis, Biogen as SMA trial hits target
FILE PHOTO: Roche tablets are seen positioned in front of a displayed Roche logo in this photo illustration January 22,…
Amgen posts higher biosimilar sales, ends neuroscience program
(Reuters) – Amgen Inc on Tuesday said competition for its older drugs sent third-quarter revenue down 3%, but biosimilar sales…
Two charities to pay $6 million to resolve U.S. pharma kickback probe
BOSTON (Reuters) – Two charities will pay $6 million to resolve claims they operated as pass-throughs for seven pharmaceutical companies…
FDA approves Alexion’s Ultomiris for another rare blood disease
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc’s treatment for a second rare blood…
SEC freezes assets of 18 traders over alleged manipulation
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. authorities said on Wednesday it has obtained an asset freeze against 18 traders, who are primarily…
Lilly’s pancreatic cancer treatment fails late-stage study
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Lilly is seen on a wall of the Lilly France company unit, part of the…
Targeted Amgen drug has low response rate in colon cancer in study
(Reuters) – An experimental Amgen Inc drug that targets a specific genetic mutation shrank tumors in just one of 12…
Results of GSK and AstraZeneca trials may widen ovarian cancer drug use
BARCELONA (Reuters) – GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca both reported trial results that will likely make their competing drugs available to a…
U.S. scientists join effort to solve mysterious vaping-related illnesses
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. investigation into hundreds of cases of life-threatening lung illnesses related to vaping has turned up…
E-sniffer predicts non-responders to lung cancer immunotherapy
An electronic “nose” that detects chemicals in the breath of lung cancer patients may help distinguish between those who will…
Factbox: Animal health sector aims to emulate Zoetis biotech leap
FILE PHOTO: Moose, a six-year-old English Bulldog with B-cell lymphoma, receives trial medical treatment at the Tufts Veterinary Medical School…
Biotech is going to the dogs – and big profits await
(Reuters) – For Jessica Lescault there is no question that her 6-year old English bulldog “Moose” deserves cutting-edge biotechnology cancer…
Factbox: Animal health sector aims to emulate Zoetis biotech leap
FILE PHOTO: Moose, a six-year-old English Bulldog with B-cell lymphoma, receives trial medical treatment at the Tufts Veterinary Medical School…
Biotech is going to the dogs – and big profits await
(Reuters) – For Jessica Lescault there is no question that her 6-year old English bulldog “Moose” deserves cutting-edge biotechnology cancer…
Sanofi to pay Lexicon $260 million for terminated partnership
The logo of Sanofi is seen at the company’s research and production centre in Vitry-sur-Seine, France, August 6, 2019. REUTERS/Charles…
Inside drugmakers’ strategy to boost cancer medicines with ‘Lazarus effect’
(Reuters) – In the halls of MD Anderson Cancer Center, the drug Vitrakvi is known for having a “Lazarus effect”…
Cigna rolls out new plan to fully cover multi-million dollar gene therapies
A screen displays the logo fro Cigna Corp. on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New…
Novartis, Lonza deepen biosimilars push with MS, arthritis drug deals
ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss drugmakers Novartis and Lonza separately deepened their push into so-called biosimilars, betting cheaper copies of name-brand…
UK cost watchdog recommends Novartis’ blindness therapy Luxturna
(Reuters) – Novartis AG’s gene therapy for blindness, Luxturna, is recommended for use on England’s public health service, the country’s…
Roche, Spark again extend $4.3 billion takeover offer
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss drugmaker Roche at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo…
Patent court to review Alexion’s Soliris patents on Amgen challenge
(Reuters) – The U.S. patent office will review patents on Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc’s blood disorder treatment Soliris, after Amgen Inc…
Retrophin scraps nervous system disorder study, shares dive
(Reuters) – Retrophin Inc said on Thursday it was discontinuing the late-stage study for its rare neurological disorder treatment after…
GSK builds oncology pipeline as drug shown to help myeloma patients
(Reuters) – GlaxoSmithKline said an experimental multiple myeloma treatment has shown a meaningful response in patients that have run out…
Companies file suit in Canada challenging new rules to lower drug prices
(Reuters) – Five pharmaceutical companies said on Friday they have filed a complaint in a Canadian court challenging the constitutionality…
FDA declines to approve Sarepta’s second Duchenne treatment
(Reuters) – Sarepta Therapeutics Inc said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve its newest treatment…
FDA approves Celgene’s bone marrow cancer treatment
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Celgene Corp’s Inrebic to treat certain rare forms of…
Amgen wins U.S. patent battle on arthritis drug Enbrel, thwarting Novartis
(Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Friday upheld two patents relating to Amgen Inc’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel, denying…
No-deal Brexit could deepen Europe’s shortage of medicines – experts
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – As the Oct. 31 deadline for Britain to leave the European Union approaches, health professionals are warning…
Regeneron’s Ebola treatment proves superior to rival in trial
(Reuters) – Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Monday its experimental treatment for Ebola proved superior to a rival therapy from…
Senator Grassley seeks info on Novartis’s Zolgensma data issues
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) speaks to reporters on his way from the Senate floor after a vote…
Scientists hail promise of first effective Ebola treatments in Congo trial
LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists are a step closer to finding the first effective treatments for the deadly Ebola haemorrhagic fever…
Sarepta says adverse event report for DMD gene therapy erroneously submitted
(Reuters) – Sarepta Therapeutics Inc said on Thursday it was informed that an adverse event report was erroneously submitted to…
FDA panel backs Gilead’s HIV prevention drug Descovy, except in women
(Reuters) – An FDA advisory panel on Wednesday voted in favor of Gilead Sciences Inc’s combination drug to reduce the…
Patient groups push back against Gilead’s pricey HIV prevention treatment
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O) hopes to soon introduce a pricey new pill to prevent HIV in…
Medicare to cover expensive cancer cell therapies
FILE PHOTO: A Gilead Sciences, Inc. office is shown in Foster City, California, U.S. May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Stephen Lam (Reuters)…
European panel okays GW Pharma cannabis drug for epilepsy
(Reuters) – GW Pharmaceuticals’ marijuana-based treatment Epidyolex has won a positive recommendation for marketing approval from a European Medicines Agency…