The German group has been talking up its pharmaceuticals division but analysts are not convinced it has addressed the elephant in the room that is the loss of patent protection for its blockbuster anticoagulant Xarelto in 2024.

German firm Adrenomed has received new funding to push its innovative antibody for septic shock further into development. The company talks to Scrip about how it works, and why it won’t allow the asset to be a victim of strategic decision making.

Novo Nordisk’s chief science officer tells Scrip the readout of its PIONEER 6 trial on oral semaglutide came earlier than originally thought, allowing for an FDA filing in first-half 2019, and that use of a priority review voucher is a clear option that could speed up the process.  

Guidelines place high emphasis on low cost, but also outcomes data. Esperion plans to file bempedioc acid next year, but outcomes data won’t be available until 2022.

Boston Scientific CEO says US group has been tracking UK-based BTG "for more than two years" and that interventional medicine is a key attraction.

Already outdated? The latest ACC/AHA guidelines say at mid-2018 list prices, PCSK9 injectables are of low value, but the costs have plummeted since then.

In "very top-line" Phase IIb data, the magnitude of the treatment effect for valbenazine in children with Tourette syndrome was weaker than expected, and its loss from active development means there will be only a handful of candidates under evaluation for the disorder.

Novartis executives highlighted their stars from its refined pipeline during the company’s first R&D day since Vas Narasimhan took the helm and after a cull that reduced the firm’s development portfolio by 20%.

Eli Lilly signed a licensing deal to develop a tau aggregation inhibitor small molecule for Alzheimer's disease – a drug that works differently from existing antibodies and could offer potential in combination regimens. AC Immune CEO Andrea Pfeifer talked to Scrip about the deal.

The still somewhat loosely defined concept of 'digital health' continues to take concrete forms through recent deals in Japan, where major pharma firms are building initiatives related mainly to patient well-being.

It is a field littered with failures but Eisai remains hopeful that its pipeline of candidates for Alzheimer's disease, which has just been added to, gives the firm a number of shots at getting a disease-modifying agent to market.

Termination of nelotanserin, a small molecule licensed from Arena, in Lewy body dementias comes after a dramatic shift toward gene therapy.

Novartis stresses long-term safety database for Cosentyx – with five years' worth of data in three indications – psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

Dutch rare disease company Pharming talked to Scrip about turning a profit for the first time in the company’s history, finally restocking the pipeline in potentially blockbuster indications, and turning its attention back to Pompe disease after 20 years in the cold.

O'Day brings Gilead experience in oncology and M&A from a large, diversified organization.

Two Phase III studies, PEARL 1 and PEARL 2, will compare Novartis's candidate anti-IgE antibody with the previous generation anti-IgE MAb, Xolair, for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria.

In a strategic shift confirmed by the German company, BI's Humira biosimilar Cyltezo will only be launched in the US while its version of Avastin has been abandoned altogether.

Positive Phase III data with its sublingual house dust allergy tablet heralds a likely increase in competition in the US allergy sector in the years to come and also provide an early leaving present for the company's retiring CEO.

O'Day brings Gilead experience in oncology and M&A from a large, diversified organization.

China-focused Brii Biosciences, formed earlier this year, unveils plans to take its first projects into the clinic by way of deals with VBI and Vir for hepatitis B, and builds other alliances and operations in the country.

Daiichi Sankyo makes further vaccine business restructuring moves as it emphasizes oncology amid global generic challenges to its former big seller olmesartan.

Financial grants are bringing UK and Chinese researchers together in bilateral collaborations to fight the growing global threat from antimicrobial resistance.

German mRNA-focused biotech BioNTech is branching out from its immuno-oncology focus to explore the potential of its platforms in infectious diseases. Speaking at the sidelines of BIO-Europe 2018, Sean Marett, BioNTech’s CBO and CCO, reveals how deals signed in the second half of 2018, with Pfizer to create a new type of flu vaccine and Penn University to deliver up to 10 IND-ready infectious disease-targeted assets, will underpin the development of a second major pillar for the company.

Medicare proposed rule exposes Part D protected class drugs to threat of formulary exclusion if price increases exceed a certain threshold. Here's how it might play out for cancer and HIV drugs.

US Patent and Trademark Office invalidated two patents covering Sanofi's Lantus vial, clearing the way for Mylan to launch a follow-on product after FDA approval.

Novo Nordisk' obesity pipeline consists of projects addressing both appetite reduction and energy expenditure, with GLP-1 semaglutide topping the list, its CSO says in an interview with Scrip.

Novo Nordisk’s chief science officer tells Scrip the readout of its PIONEER 6 trial on oral semaglutide came earlier than originally thought, allowing for an FDA filing in first-half 2019, and that use of a priority review voucher is a clear option that could speed up the process.  

Lilly reported strong sales growth for many of its recently launched products, but news of the potentially differentiating REWIND cardiovascular outcomes trial data dominated the pharma’s third quarter earnings call.

Danish duo enter pact to discover novel therapeutics for obesity and related metabolic diseases using mechanisms that increase the body's expenditure of energy.

Performance of Dupixent, which just picked up a new indication, was a third quarter highlight and bodes well for future growth, but sales of the blockbuster insulin glargine Lantus are crumbling.

Troubled by a clinical hold for another program, Advaxis now regains all rights to ADXS-NEO, a personalized immunotherapy in Phase I for cervical and head-and-neck cancers.

Against all the odds, AstraZeneca still has hopes for Imfinzi in first-line NSCLC with data from the failed MYSTIC trial suggesting strong survival in patients with a high tumour mutation burden.

Astellas has exercised an option to acquire Potenza, paying up to $404.7m in cash for the private US venture in a deal that will boost its presence in immuno-oncology.

AbbVie/Pharmacyclics executives Danelle James and Mohamed Zaki, in an interview at ASH, discussed Imbruvica's worth in chemo-free settings and noted additional value that could be created with shorter durations of treatment in combination regimens.

Novartis executives highlighted their stars from its refined pipeline during the company’s first R&D day since Vas Narasimhan took the helm and after a cull that reduced the firm’s development portfolio by 20%.

City of Hope hematologist/oncologist Joseph Alvarnas shares his perspectives on how CAR-T therapies are requiring new models of health care delivery and engagement with more kinds of stakeholders, during an interview at the recent ASH annual meeting.

Novartis executives highlighted their stars from its refined pipeline during the company’s first R&D day since Vas Narasimhan took the helm and after a cull that reduced the firm’s development portfolio by 20%.

Faron's ARDS drug looked doomed after the INTEREST study earlier this year but the Finnish group claims that a DNA analysis has identified some patients for whom Traumakine treatment could potentially be effective.

Vertex duplicated promising efficacy observed in Phase II for its cystic fibrosis triple combo that includes VX-659, but wants to see data expected in early 2019 for a triplet containing VX-445 before filing for approvals.

An ambitious trial of a budesonide-based drug/device combo for uncontrolled asthma has failed, but Vectura is upbeat as it switches resources to a potential pediatric asthma treatment.

Galecto Biotech recently raised €79m in a Series C funding round. Chief medical officer Richard Marshall spoke to Scrip about how it plans to invest the capital in its pipeline treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.