Pharma’s digital spend is expected to spurt in the coming years and firms are deploying a range of initiatives to deliver personalized content to physicians via preferred channels. KOL webinars feature among the top three approaches for marketers across the Americas, Europe and Asia, a new survey shows.

The first country ever to approve a gene therapy, China has been lagging in the area since due to a lack of clear regulatory pathways and insufficient financial incentives. Now a new crop of developers are aiming to revitalize ambitions and make the country a major power for promising novel treatments for rare neurodegenerative conditions, retinal dystrophy, HIV and cancer.

Glenmark expects its first US manufacturing site to go commercial next year, accelerating growth in that market, while it sets right certain compliance blips back home. The Indian firm is also on course to divest certain non-core assets but notes that bringing in a minority partner for its API unit is not a priority.

As returns from levorphanol fall on the back of increased competition, Zydus Cadila writes down investment by $37.5m causing Q2 profits to slump 74%. Post successful Phase II trials in the US for NASH and NAFLD indications, its hopes are now pinned on saroglitazar magnesium.

UK pharma giant’s head, International tells Scrip expanded alliance with diversified Japan group will develop solutions across the patient journey, while new China investments aim to tap into emerging innovation in this market.

Novartis has received two positive opinions in Europe, the most important being for Mayzent, its active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis drug which is key to the company's ambitions for growth in the neurology space.

2019 has seen European biotech companies making waves in the US IPO space. Genmab’s listing was a blockbuster, but many more companies have proven their ability to go public on the NASDAQ.

Merck Sharp & Dohme will begin manufacturing licensed doses of Ervebo in Germany and will continue to send investigational vaccine doses to Democratic Republic of Congo.

Melanoma is first target for company developing cancer vaccines and T-cell receptor immunotherapies.

In his latest opinion piece, Viren Mehta fears the impact that ideologically motivated and protectionist actions around the world will have on the biopharma sector and ultimately on patients.

One of a new wave of treatments, Novartis has focused on proving its drug cuts vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs), or pain crises.

Focus of negotiations with agency will be on breadth of population encompassed by a cardiovascular risk reduction indication; most advisory committee members favored a broad claim for secondary and primary prevention reflecting the REDUCE-IT trial population, but some strongly opposed an indication that includes patients without established CV disease.

Tufts researchers report restrictions are more common for orphan drugs indicated for diseases with higher prevalence and that are more expensive.

In his latest opinion piece, Viren Mehta fears the impact that ideologically motivated and protectionist actions around the world will have on the biopharma sector and ultimately on patients.

Vifor has boosted its US nephrology prospects with a pact with Janssen to jointly market Invokana in diabetic kidney disease.

Farxiga, with a new indication to prevent hospitalization for heart failure in type 2 diabetes patients, is the first drug among the SGLT2 class to gain this indication outside of diabetics with renal disease.