News in Numbers

10

The top 10 precision and personalized medicine companies are Novartis, Pfizer, Catalent, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Bristol Myers Squibb, Amgen and Gilead Sciences.

$1.9bn

UCB concludes acquisition of biopharma firm Zogenix for $1.9bn, which will add Fintepla to UCB’s current portfolio of products.

$1.5bn 

Novartis and Voyager sign licence agreement for gene therapy capsids where Voyager will receive up to $1.5bn payment on meeting potential development, regulatory and commercial milestones from Novartis.

6 million

The global Covid death toll has passed the milestone of 6 million, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

935

French drugmaker Sanofi plans to invest 935 million euros ($1.02 billion) over the next few years to develop messenger RNA vaccines in France.

 Covid-19

WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) continues to encourage COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to generate and provide data to WHO on the performance of current and variant-specific candidate COVID-19 vaccines.

Source: WHO

WHO, in a joint statement with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), calls for prioritization of monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infection in wildlife and preventing the formation of animal reservoirs.

Source: WHO

Austria has suspended its mandatory Covid-19 vaccination law, just a month after it took effect.

Source: THE GUARDIAN

Imaging before and after infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus reveals substantial changes in the brain after infection.

Source: NATURE

Imaging before and after infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus reveals substantial changes in the brain after infection.

Source: THE GUARDIAN

There's a fresh surge in Covid cases around the world - infections are rising in the UK and parts of Europe. China and Hong Kong are seeing their largest spike in cases in more than two years.

Source: BBC

Two years since COVID prompted the first UK lockdown, new figures reveal more detail about the numbers of additional deaths that occurred during the pandemic.

Source: SKY NEWS

Clinical Trials

VIRIOS AND BHC PARTNER TO ANALYSE ANTIVIRAL COMBINATION FOR LONG COVID

Virios Therapeutics has collaborated with the Bateman Horne Center (BHC) of Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah to investigate the role of combination antiviral treatment for long Covid or Post-Acute Sequelae of Covid-19. 

Source: pharmaceutical-technology

MGH AND BWH IDENTIFY MULTI-INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME DRUG FOR CHILDREN

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) researchers have identified a potential drug candidate, larazotide acetate, to treat serious Covid-19 complication, multi-inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) in children.

Source: pharmaceutical-technology

COHERUS AND JUNSHI BIOSCIENCES ANNOUNCES PHASE III RESULTS OF TORIPALIMAB PUBLISHED 

Coherus BioSciences and Shanghai Junshi Biosciences announced the online publication in Cancer Cell of Phase III data (JUPITER-06) of toripalimab plus chemotherapy in treatment-naïve, advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Source: investors.coherus

PFIZER ANNOUNCES PHASE III CLOVER RESULTS FOR C. DIFFICILE VACCINE CANDIDATE

Pfizer announced results from the CLOVER trial (CLOstridium difficile Vaccine Efficacy TRial), a Phase III study evaluating its Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) vaccine candidate (PF-06425090) in the prevention of C. difficile infection (CDI). The trial did not meet its pre-specified primary endpoint of prevention of primary CDI.

Source: businesswire

GILEAD POSTS PHASE III TRODELVY RESULTS IN BREAST CANCER

Gilead Sciences posted results from the Phase III TROPiCS-02 study evaluating Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) in patients with HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer who received prior endocrine therapy, CDK4/6 inhibitors and two to four lines of chemotherapy. The study met its primary endpoint with a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) versus physician’s choice of chemotherapy.

Source: gilead

ASTELLAS ANNOUNCES TOPLINE RESULTS FROM LONG-TERM PHASE III FEZOLINETANT STUDY

Astellas Pharma announced topline results from the Phase III SKYLIGHT 4 clinical trial investigating the long-term safety of fezolinetant for the treatment of moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause (VMS). The data will support future regulatory filing submissions.

Source: newsroom