AstraZeneca and Hutchison China MediTech (Chi-Med) have begun trialling savolitinib in patients with a particular type of kidney cancer in a global, open-label, randomised Phase III registration study
News
CRT expands drug discovery deal with Merck
Cancer Research Technology is extending its deal with Germany’s Merck to discover new cancer drugs targeting the Hippo signalling pathway, which regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis to control tissue growth.
Novartis bags first-line approval for Zykadia
The European Commission has expanded the scope of Novartis’ Zykadia to include the first line treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumours are anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive.
Final NICE nod for Sanofi’s Gaucher therapy
Sanofi’s Cerdelga can now be funded on the NHS in England and Wales to treat type 1 Gaucher disease, after cost regulators issued final guidance backing ‘routine’ use of the therapy.
LifeArc teams up with UK defence lab and Canada’s CDRD
LifeArc, the UK medical research charity previously known as MRC Technology, is working alongside the government’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and Canada’s Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) to identify new antibacterial drug targets.
Vectura links with Novartis for inhaled asthma/COPD generic
British drugmaker Vectura has signed an exclusive deal with Novartis unit Sandoz to develop a generic version of an existing major inhaled combination therapy for asthma and COPD in the US.
Experimental sickle cell disease drug gets PRIME status
Global Blood Therapeutics’ GBT440 has become the first potential treatment for sickle cell disease to be accepted onto the European Medicines Agency’s regulatory support programme PRIME.
GSK tests mepolizumab for nasal polyps
GlaxoSmithKline has kicked off a Phase III study exploring the potential of its biologic mepolizumab in patients with severe bilateral nasal polyps, a chronic inflammatory disease of the nasal passage linings or sinuses causing soft tissue growth in the upper nasal cavity.
MSD’s CETP inhibitor lowers risk of cardiac events
MSD’s CETP inhibitor anacetrapib has hit its key target in the late-stage REVEAL study, showing a significant reduction in major coronary events in at-risk patients already on a cholesterol-lowering regimen.
STP cuts will affect ‘millions of patients’, says BMA
NHS England’s controversial Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) are back in the spotlight again after an investigation by the British Medical Association revealed “eye-watering” salaries for those in charge of their delivery, and that related cuts to services could affect millions of patients.
NICE backs Afinitor, Sutent for neuroendocrine tumours
Novartis’ Afinitor and Pfizer’s Sutent have received backing from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as cost-effective treatment options for certain neuroendocrine tumours (NETs).
Sandoz launches MabThera, Enbrel biosimilars in the UK
Novartis group Sandoz has launched two new biosimilars across the UK potentially expanding access to biologic treatments for a range of inflammatory conditions and blood cancers.
Sanofi, Regeneron’s biologic gets EU nod for rheumatoid arthritis
Sanofi and Regeneron’s Kevzara has been approved by European regulators to treat moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in adult patients.
UK trial for new bladder cancer therapy
An experimental therapy for bladder cancer in on the brink of entering Phase I clinical trials in the UK after a development pact was signed between Cancer Research UK, its commercial arm Cancer Research Technology, and Canadian biotech Sitka Biopharma.
Most adults worried about the future of the NHS, shows poll
Eighty-two percent of adults are worried about the future of the NHS, while 60 percent fear that the service is heading in the “wrong direction”, according to findings of a poll carried out by the British Medical Association.
