News

Novartis is maintaining its distance over claims of data manipulation in a Japanese post-marketing trial of the company’s antihypertensive valsartan (Diovan) in angina and stroke.

It looks like Merck & Co will have to wait a little longer for US approval of its sugammadex, after US regulators said they need more time to assess the results of a recently completed inspection of a clinical trial site. 

AstraZeneca’s chief financial officer Simon Lowth is to leave the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker to take the same post at natural gas major BG Group.

Pfizer will be celebrating news that its rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz has been issued a green light in Switzerland, particularly as its approval within the European Union is currently looking unlikely.

Shares in Alexion Pharmaceuticals have shot up on fresh rumours that Roche is interested in acquiring the US biotech.

Sanofi Pasteur is poised to produce the first validation batches of their dengue vaccine at the company’s state-of-the-art production centre near Lyon, France.

Bristol-Myers Squibb’s nivolumab will overtake proven blockbuster competitors to dominate the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment market, following an expected launch in 2015, according to new forecasts.

For the first time, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first device based on brain function (and made by Neba Health) to help assess attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

France’s Ipsen is buying Syntaxin, a specialist in the field of botulinum toxins, in a deal that could be worth over 158 million euros to the UK privately-held life sciences group.

Boehringer Ingelheim is celebrating the approval of its first oncology drug after regulators in the USA gave the green light to Gilotrif for late-stage non-small cell lung cancer.

GlaxoSmithKline says it has found no evidence of its employees in China paying bribes to doctors and hospitals, despite claims made by the country’s Public Security Bureau.

Canada’s protection of intellectual property (IP) in the pharmaceutical industry falls short of international standards and could hinder its ability to negotiate international trade deals now under discussion, a new report warns.

Pfizer is expanding two of its manufacturing plants in Ireland, investing $100 million into the Grange Castle facility in Dublin and $30 million at its Ringaskiddy site in Cork.

Thirty-six companies participated in the new PharmaTimes Sales Awards, which encompass PharmaTimes Sales Representative of the Year and PharmaTimes Business Manager of the Year competitions, with the winners announced at a presentation ceremony in London on 11 July.  

Some employees at GlaxoSmithKline who are being investigated in China for suspected bribery and tax-related violations have already confessed to the offences, according to the state-owned Xinhua news agency.