News

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued final draft guidance which does not recommend Pfizer’s Xalkori (crizotinib) for previously-treated anaplastic-lymphoma-kinase-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 

Novartis is the latest company to face bribery allegations in China after a whistleblower accused the firm of offering kickbacks to doctors to ensure cancer drugs were prescribed.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has endorsed a number of tests to help doctors better target treatment for patients with the most common form of lung cancer.

SkyePharma has posted an impressive set of results for the first half of 2013, with a huge sales hike largely driven by growing sales of asthma drug Flutiform across the globe.

Theorem Clinical Research, the US-based provider of clinical research and development services, is tapping into the medical-imaging expertise increasingly required in clinical trials by adding imaging specialist RadMD to its roster of strategic alliances.

As promised earlier this year, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has launched a clinical-trial disclosure toolkit to help its member companies comply with transparency requirements for information from or about clinical studies. 

Boehringer Ingelheim said sales dipped fractionally to €7.1 billion in the first half of 2013, saying the global market in prescription medicines is “stagnating”.

Shares in MannKind were trading up nearly 20% yesterday after its inhaled insulin smashed goals in two late-stage studies, pushing it closer to approval.

Amgen has finalised a collaboration with Servier that will bolster the pipelines of both companies.

Spending on drug reimbursement by Germany’s statutory health insurance (GKV) funds increased 4.1% in the first half of 2013, IMS Health has reported.

Quintiles, the US-based provider of biopharmaceutical development and commercial outsourcing services, has agreed to acquire Novella Clinical, a full-service clinical research organisation (CRO) focused mainly on emerging oncology, medical devices and diagnostics customers.

Takeda has been granted approval in Switzerland for lurasidone, its once-daily antipsychotic for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia.

The number of prescriptions for drugs to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has shot up more than 50% in just six years, official figures show.

UK-based contract manufacturer Aesica Pharmaceuticals has put together a Quality Assurance team under new recruit Gareth Adlam to deliver Qualified Person (QP) services across a broad range of dosage forms for Investigational Medicinal Products (IMPs) used in clinical trials.

Shares in Albany Molecular took a beating after it emerged that drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb has pulled the plug on development of its experimental antidepressant.