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News
NICE turns down Lilly’s lung cancer drug Portrazza
It is looking unlikely that lung cancer patients in England and Wales will get access to Eli Lilly’s new treatment Portrazza on the National Health Service, after the drug received an initial rejection from cost regulators.
FDA nod for CSL’s long-acting haemophilia drug
CSL Behring’s Afstyla has been approved in the US as a long-lasting treatment option for patients with the bleeding disorder haemophilia A.
US OKs first implant for opioid addiction
US regulators have approved the first buprenorphine implant to help treat people addicted to opioids, including prescription painkillers and heroin.
NHS England orders national service to handle Soliris
NHS England has announced plans to establish a national service to treat the ultra-rare kidney condition Atypical Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (aHUS), and the administration of Alexion’s high-cost Soliris.
NIHR streams £21m into paediatric research
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has invested £21 million in 35 new studies that focus on improving the health outcomes for children and young people with long-term conditions (LTCs).
Sanofi moves to replace Medivation board
Sanofi is gearing up to challenge Medivation’s Board of Directors on the grounds that it has thus far rebuffed any attempts to discuss its proposed takeover of the firm.
Prostate cancer patients in England win access to Jevtana
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has now published guidance supporting the NHS use of Sanofi Genzyme’s plant-based chemotherapy Jevtana for prostate cancer.
FDA advisors back approval of Sanofi’s new diabetes drug
Sanofi’s new diabetes therapy has taken a big step towards clearance in the US after winning backing from regulatory advisors.
Healthcare professionals ‘dramatically’ cut antibiotic prescribing
GPs in the NHS have dramatically reduced the number of antibiotics being prescribed unnecessarily, slashing the volume of prescriptions down by over 2.6 million in one year alone under the global fight against antibiotic resistance.
Company news roundup: 25 May
$1bn sales predicted for Lilly’s plaque psoriasis drug; Boehringer collaborates for schizophrenia; Daiichi gets Japan license for cardiac regeneration medicine
NICE backs three medicines for type 2 diabetes
Cost regulators for the NHS in England and Wales are backing the use of three monotherapies to treat patients with diabetes type 2: Janssen’s Invokana, AstraZeneca’s Forxiga and Boehringer Ingelheim/Lilly’s Jardiance.
GSK’s Relvar Ellipta hits the mark in COPD trial
A “ground-breaking” UK study has shown that GlaxoSmithKline’s Relvar Ellipta is better than the standard of care in reducing exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Janssen’s Stelara impresses in Crohn’s maintenance trial
Janssen’s biologic Stelara has hit targets in a Phase III trial testing its ability to maintain clinical remission in patients with Crohn’s disease.
EU lifts neuropsychiatric warning for Pfizer’s Champix
European regulators have removed the black triangle warning from the label of Pfizer’s smoking cessation drug Champix, on the back of data from a post-marketing surveillance study backing its neuropsychiatric safety.
