The US FDA cleared Sanofi/Regeneron's IL-4/IL-13 inhibitor for moderate-to-severe asthma in patients with an eosinophilic phenotype or with oral corticosteroid-dependent asthma, a broader label than AstraZeneca's Fasenra, GSK's Nucala and Teva's Cinqair.

After years of industry unsuccessfully trying to find an oral version of the successful I.V. integrin inhibitors, Morphic has a prolific platform – and AbbVie is paying $100m up front for preclinical oral integrin inhibitors for fibrosis indications, potentially including NASH.

The company's $2.1bn acquisition of Endocyte and expansion into radiopharmaceuticals dominated some of the call, but with the launches of drugs like Cosentyx, Kymriah, Kisqali and Aimovig underway, there was a lot for Novartis' management team to address.

Medivir outlines plans to cut costs, reduce headcount and streamline priorities as the biotech focuses solely on four assets in clinical development.

Endocyte paid just $12m upfront a year ago for a potential first-in-class investigational radioligand therapy for prostate cancer. Novartis is buying Endocyte for a whopping $2.1bn., highlighting the company's emphasis on building in radiopharmaceuticals.

Vertex’s portfolio-based access deal in Denmark will give patients quicker access to a range of cystic fibrosis drugs and give budget predictability to the company and government.

PhRMA unveiled a voluntary policy under which drug makers will provide information in DTC ads about how to access drug prices and cost information. But hours later HHS issued a proposed rule on the same topic, only requiring drug makers to include WAC prices in TV ads. .

Pipeline Watch is a weekly snapshot of selected late-stage clinical trial events announced by pharmaceutical and biotech companies at medical and industry conferences, in financial and company presentations, and in company releases and statements.

As part of broader efforts to pursue novel approaches to common neurological disorders, Eisai uses iPSC-derived cells to help identify potential new drug approaches to Parkinson's.

Clinicians and analysts have lauded spectacular results presented at ESMO from the SOLO-1 trial which strongly suggest that AstraZeneca's Lynparza should be the first-line maintenance treatment of choice for ovarian cancer patients with a BRCA mutation.