News

Pfizer’s abuse-resistant painkiller ALO-02 is to be assessed by the US and Food and Drug Administration.

Takeda has been boosted by data showing that its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease therapy Daxas significantly reduced exacerbations and hospitalisations in the severest sufferers.

A meta-analysis carried out by Oxford University claims that hormone replacement therapy increases the risk of ovarian cancer.

Patients with multiple myeloma will not be able to access Celgene’s Imnovid (pomalidomide) on the National Health Service in England after cost-regulators issued a final draft ‘no’ for funding as a third-line treatment.

Eisai has presented more positive data on its potential blockbuster lenvatinib in a late-stage thyroid cancer trial.

Johnson & Johnson has unveiled three new research platforms focused on “redefining healthcare”, looking at disease prevention and interception, plus the role of the microbiome.

Shire has posted very healthy revenues for the fourth quarter, up 19% to $1.58 billion and highlighted its strongest-ever pipeline. Operating income jumped 28% to $655 million, driven by the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder drug Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate), sales of which climbed 16% to $383 million. Its off-patent predecessor Adderall XR (mixed amphetamine salts) was up 26% to $103 million, although another ADHD drug, Intuniv (guanfacine), sank 44% to $48 million (+20%) ahead of patent expiries in December.

AbbVie has submitted a New Drug Application in Japan seeking approval to market its investigational, oral treatment for patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C.

There is only a fortnight to go before the winners of 2015’s PharmaTimes Clinical Researcher of the Year – The Americas awards are revealed.

Novavax has begun enrolling healthy human volunteers in a Phase I clinical trial of its Ebola vaccine.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has won the day with its bid of $400 million to buy bankrupt Dendreon Corp and its prostate cancer vaccine Provenge.

HIV/AIDS specialist ViiV Healthcare has again come out as having the best corporate reputation out of 37 pharmaceutical companies, according to a poll of 1,150 patient groups.

Anika Therapeutics has filed regulatory submissions in both the US and Europe seeking approval of Cingal, its hyaluronic acid/steroid jab for osteoarthritis of the knee. 

A study has been published which shows that while some aspects of care have improved for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease over the last six years, standards differ greatly across England and Wales.

Doctors are seemingly outraged by new draft guidelines on the treatment of diabetes published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, according to a recent study of conversations among healthcare professionals in social media.