News

GlaxoSmithKline has purchased the Swiss-based vaccine technology company Okairos for 250 million euros in a deal that will bolster the firm’s biologics division.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued a Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) backing the use of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)/AstraZeneca’s first-in-class type 2 diabetes treatment Forxiga (dapagliflozin).

Patients having non-emergency operations on a Friday are 44% more likely to die than those having surgery on a Monday, researchers at Imperial College London have found in what they claim is the first study to show a “week-day effect” on hospital mortality.

A Conservative Party policy group is mulling over whether there should be a cap on the number of times people can visit their GP a year. 

Gilead’s new once-daily, single pill HIV therapy Stribild has been rolled out in the UK this week, offering potential benefits in treatment adherence, a crucial aspect of treatment outcomes.

GlaxoSmithKline has received US approval for its two melanoma pills and a companion diagnostic made by French firm bioMérieux.

Amgen and Astellas have announced a unique long-term collaboration that will see the firms work together on new treatments and geographies.

AstraZeneca will pay a maximum of $443 million for lipid lowering specialist Omthera Pharma to gain access to its anti-triglyceride drug Epanova.

Legislation to enable the introduction of reference pricing and pro-generic initiatives has now been passed by both houses of Ireland’s parliament (Oireachtas) and is expected to take effect next month.

Under its expanded health and social care remit, NICE has released new advice to GPs and practice nurses to help them identify adults who are not active enough and to encourage them to get moving.

The UK’s Department of Health has injected an extra £4 million into the NHS to improve the way diseases are diagnosed.

The sales representatives that give the most value to doctors cover psychiatry, oncology, paediatrics and ophthalmology, results from an exclusive poll for PharmaTimes show.

Cenix BioScience, a preclinical contract research organisation specialising in drug discovery based on RNA interference (RNAi), micro-RNA (miRNA) and high-content screening, has signed a research agreement to support Switzerland’s Debiopharm Group in its efforts to develop personalised therapies for unmet medical needs.

The care of patients with dementia and complex health needs has been given priority in plans to improve the training, values and education of National Health Service staff.

UK-based stem-cell pioneer ReNeuron has reported further encouraging data from the Phase I PISCES (Pilot Investigation of Stem Cells in Stroke) study of its ReN001 therapy in ischaemic-stroke patients.