Cardiovascular

The company's pharma chief Marie-France Tschudin does not expect Entresto's "unique position" in heart failure to be threatened by SGLT2 inhibitors such as Jardiance and Farxiga, saying those drugs are add-ons that will be used predominantly in diabetes patients.

The REDWOOD-HCM study showed early, sustained efficacy and no serious adverse events with a drug Cytokinetics designed to be superior to mavacamten, a drug it spun out via BMS-acquired MyoKardia.

The company announced interim results of the FREEDOM-HF study showing nearly $18,000 in savings per heart failure patient.

Entresto and Cosentyx continue to grow but investors will be looking to see if there are candidates in the current portfolio or pipeline that could join them in the mega-blockbuster club.

The deal leaves PRX004 in the capable hands of Novo Nordisk, which is hoping to expand beyond obesity and diabetes, while Prothena can focus on the rest of its pipeline.

In this week's podcast edition of Five Must-Know Things: Novartis’s US strategy for inclisiran; Roche under pressure over prices for Actemra in COVID; Lambda coronavirus variant poses new challenge for vaccines; GSK loses its oncology R&D head; and a look at expected Q3 approvals in the US.

The company has said coverage under medical benefit could mean $0 copays for many patients, potentially overcoming a hurdle to uptake in the biologic cholesterol market.

A Phase III trial in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction showed a benefit, which could result in a broad heart failure label for the SGLT2 inhibitor.

Cardiologists in Europe who have so far been unwilling to embrace the SGLT2 class now have two drugs approved for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, with Jardiance soon to join Farxiga on the market, potentially attractive options especially for their diabetic patients.

AstraZeneca's partner FibroGen stunned investors and regulators by announcing that previously disclosed cardiovascular safety data for CKD candidate roxadustat included changes made post hoc, rather than as pre-specified with the US FDA.

The German group is investing heavily in R&D and the continued strong performance of products like Spiriva and Pradaxa is helping to pay for future innovation.

The battle for PCSK9 inhibitor market share continues with Amgen’s Repatha outselling Praluent, but a now-ended patent dispute no longer threatens Regeneron’s ability to sell its product in the US.