News

Advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration are supporting the approval of Vertex’ cystic fibrosis combination Orkambi, which targets the most common form of the illness.

Baxter International is shelling out $900 million on Sigma-Tau’s Oncaspar (pegaspargase) product portfolio, in a move designed to strengthen its commercial foothold in the global oncology market.

Pfizer has picked up a minority equity interest in AM-Pharma alongside an exclusive option to buy up the remaining equity in the firm, in a deal potentially worth up to $600 million.

Research by UK charity the Stroke Association has revealed that the number of strokes occurring in men and women of working age is rising at an alarming rate, jumping 25% in the last 15 years, challenging the notion that it is a condition of older people.

US regulators have granted Fast Track status to Merck KgaA and Threshold Pharmaceuticals’ experimental pancreatic cancer drug evofosfamide (previously TH-302).

Endo International has picked up “a broad portfolio of branded and generic injectable and established products” from South African drugs giant Aspen Pharmacare for around $130 million.

US regulators have questioned the clinical validity of Vertex’ cystic fibrosis combo Orkambi, which targets the most common form of the genetic condition, ahead of an advisory committee meeting this Tuesday (May 12). 

GlaxoSmithKline and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have formed a multi-faceted HIV partnership that sees the creation of a new company and an HIV Cure centre.

GW Pharmaceuticals has kicked off a Phase III clinical trial of its cannabinoid Epidiolex for the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), a rare and severe form of childhood-onset epilepsy.

Eli Lilly and BioNTech AG have signed a research pact to discover novel cancer immunotherapies, seeking to use the body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells and create possible new treatment options.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium has approved seven new medicines for use on NHS Scotland, including the first biologic treatment for ulcerative colitis, which affects around 12,400 people across the country.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Roche’s diagnostic test for KRAS mutations to help physicians select the most effective treatment pathway for patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

Novartis’ lung cancer therapy Zykadia has bagged European approval for certain patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) forms of the disease, just over a year after US regulators issued a green light.

Lilly has sold rights to its investigational muscle-boosting drug TT701 to Canada’s Transition Therapeutics in a deal that could generate more than $100 million for the US drugs giant.

UPDATED: The Conservatives have achieved the ultimate and taken the 326 seats needed to form a majority government in the UK.