Inflammation and Immunology Chief Scientific Officer Michael Vincent talked to Scrip about the first positive Phase II data testing a JAK inhibitor for hair loss caused by alopecia areata, next steps for development and the broader I&I portfolio.

The JVs will develop and commercialize therapeutics for multiple cancer types and autoimmune disorders in China. Novocure partners its Tumor Treating Fields technology with Zai Lab, while Fate and ONO will collaborate on off-the-shelf CAR-T therapies.

The head of the German family-owned firm's venture fund tells Scrip that investing very early in promising start-ups gives Boehringer Ingelheim "a little bit of a head start" on rival pharma companies in identifying technologies that could translate into therapies five years down the line .

Cambridge, UK-based Artios Pharma attracted several new investors for its over-subscribed series B round in August 2018, but the company is yet to enter the clinic with its DNA repair drug portfolio and has many hurdles ahead to validate its technology. Scrip speaks to investors from LSP and Arix about why preclinical-stage biotechs are getting more attention in 2018.

The US FDA approved Teva's fremanezumab dosed monthly and quarterly versus Amgen's monthly Aimovig, and will launch at the same price. However, it's packaged as a pre-filled syringe instead of an autoinjector, has a higher rate of injection site reactions and it may launch alongside Lilly's Emgality.

Citing need for more ‘pull’ incentives to overcome commercial hurdles, FDA commissioner says a subscription-based fee reimbursement system would provide a foundation for return on investment of new antimicrobials targeting multi-drug resistant pathogens.

Acorda can't seem to catch a break. The Federal Circuit slapped down the company's last ditch effort to uphold its Ampyra patents and three days later the FDA postponed a decision on Inbrija, widening the gap between the entry of Ampyra generics and the launch of Acorda's new drug.

Although noises are still being made in Japan concerning the benefits of Shire's merger with Takeda, the former is going about the business of getting marketing green lights with the latest being for its inherited bleeding disorder treatment Veyvondi in Europe.

Spectrum is expanding a clinical trial with its novel, oral pan-HER inhibitor poziotinib into the first-line treatment of NSCLC with EGFR or HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations, which could provide a much-needed new option for these patients. The move also marks further positive development progress for the drug, which the US firm licensed in from Hanmi.

Two Asia-based companies disclose delays to important clinical pipeline assets, one in oncology driven by apparent ethnic differences in response to prior therapy and the other a CNS molecule hit by an unexpected toxicity finding in an animal study.

In a Phase II study, Viking’s VK2809, with the same mechanism as Madrigal’s MGL-3196, shows significant liver fat reduction in NAFLD patients, along with reduction in LDL cholesterol.