News

Perrigo is still standing strong against Mylan’s takeover attempt, rejecting the latest offer of $75 in cash and 2.3 shares for every share of Perrigo on the basis that is undervalues the business.

The end of randomised control trials is on the cards, a healthcare data expert predicts. 

Sanofi’s next-generation long-acting basal insulin Toujeo has been approved for diabetes in the European Union, offering patients a new treatment option with a lower risk of hypoglycaemia. 

The UK government has announced that extra funding of £550 million will be spent on expanding access to GPs, modernising surgeries, and improving out-of-hospital care.

Pfizer has lowered its 2015 sales and earnings forecasts as it became the latest international pharma to be hit by the weakening Euro.

GlaxoSmithKline has unveiled full data from a Phase III trial of its shingle vaccine HZ/su, showing a high level of protection across all age groups studied.

There was good news this week for Merck & Co’s blockbuster diabetes drug Januvia and indeed the whole class of DPP-4 inhibitors, after long-term clinical data backed the drug’s heart safety.

Sanofi group Genzyme will be celebrating news that US regulators have awarded fast-track designation to its investigational treatment for the rare genetic disorder Fabry disease, which affects around 10,000 people around the globe.

Late-stage data for Novartis cancer drug Arzerra shows that it could provide a progression-free survival benefit in patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

The Perrigo-Mylan-Teva takeover saga has taken another turn after Perrigo again spurned Mylan’s advances, rejecting a second bid from the generics giant.

Amgen’s cancer immunotherapy T-Vec will not be granted accelerated approval by US regulators for melanoma because of trial data concerns and the increasing availability of other new therapies for the disease, official reports indicate.

The self-proclaimed most accurate HIV home-testing kit in the World has been launched across the UK, in the hope of reducing the number of undiagnosed cases in circulation.

As expected, Mylan’s board has unanimously and vehemently rejected Teva’s takeover offer of around $40 billion, slamming the proposal for “grossly undervaluing” the firm.

Advisors to the European Medicines Agency have recommended the approval of eleven new medicines in the region, including a new treatment for skin cancer and the first therapy for the rare condition non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder.

Lilly’s Cyramza has picked up its fourth US approval in just over a year, this time for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer, significantly extending its patient reach.