News

NHS England is making available up to £2 million over the next two years to run a number of test sites looking at the role pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) could play in preventing HIV in those at the highest risk from the disease.

UCB and Amgen have reported positive top-line data for romosozumab from a late-stage trial assessing its safety and efficacy in men with osteoporosis.

LEO Pharma’s Enstilar has won scientific approval in Europe for the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris in adults, pushing it closer to marketing clearance. 

Pfizer has unveiled further Phase III data showing that its JAK inhibitor tofacitinib met key primary and secondary endpoints in trials investigating the drug’s safety and efficacy in ulcerative colitis. 

Thousands of prostate cancer patients in England and Wales will no doubt welcome news that cost-regulators have changed their minds on whether to release NHS funding for Janssen’s Zytiga pre-chemotherapy, now endorsing the drug as a cost-effective option.

Cost regulators for the National Health Service in England and Wales have reiterated their support for the use of Novartis’ revolutionary heart drug Entresto to treat patients with a certain type of heart failure.

Findings from a late-stage clinical trial have shown that treatment with Janssen’s Stelara induced clinical response and remission in adult patients with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease refractory to TNF inhibitors, a group for whom there are little treatment options.

Patients with pancreatic cancer living in Wales will no doubt welcome news that Celgene’s Abraxane will continue to be available on the National Health Service in the country, despite a decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to reject its use.

Johnson & Johnson Innovation is extending its biotechnology incubator network into Europe with the launch of JLINX in Belgium, tasked with catalysing scientific innovations by offering start-ups flexible ways to grow and collaborate across the European life science ecosystem.

GP-led, targeted interventions can significantly reduce the rate of high-risk prescribing and thus potentially protect patients from harm, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has concluded.

US regulators have issued a green light for Bayer’s Kovaltry for the treatment of haemophilia A in children and adults. 

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that its chief executive Sir Andrew Witty is to retire in March next year, after having spent almost a decade at the helm of the drugs giant.

NHS England has now confirmed the senior leaders who will oversee 44 ‘footprint’ areas in which health and care organisations and communities will work together to develop local blueprints for improved health, care and finances over the next five years.

Vectura is buying fellow UK biotech Skyepharma in a deal worth around £441 million, to create an industry-leading airways-related specialist with a pro-forma market capitalisation of around £1 billion.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence issued draft guidelines turning down Amgen’s Imlygic as an option for people with melanoma that has spread and can’t be surgically removed, because of uncertainty over its effect on survival compared with other treatments.