The pharma industry briefing

The latest news, approvals and clinical trials you need to know about this month

Data:
News in Numbers

Three

Roche’s “big three” cancer drugs – Herceptin, Rituxan, and Avastin have lost sales to cheaper biosimilars

$1.95bn

The reported amount Lundbeck has agreed to pay to acquire Alder BioPharmaceuticals and its late-stage migraine drug eptinezumab

400

Scotland health authorities have agreed to reimburse the two newest cystic fibrosis drugs from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, opening the door to therapy for roughly 400 eligible patients

$120m

The amount that four of the world's largest drug companies have agreed to pay for exclusive access to the first wave of genomic data coming out of UK Biobank

75%

A post hoc analysis found 75% of patients showed no increase in disability five years after treatment with Merck’s multiple sclerosis treatment Mavenclad

Data:
News In Numbers

$1.95bn

The reported amount Lundbeck has agreed to pay to acquire Alder BioPharmaceuticals and its late-stage migraine drug eptinezumab

Three

Roche’s “big three” cancer drugs – Herceptin, Rituxan, and Avastin have lost sales to cheaper biosimilars

400

Scotland health authorities have agreed to reimburse the two newest cystic fibrosis drugs from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, opening the door to therapy for roughly 400 eligible patients

$120m

The amount that four of the world's largest drug companies have agreed to pay for exclusive access to the first wave of genomic data coming out of UK Biobank

75%

A post hoc analysis found 75% of patients showed no increase in disability five years after treatment with Merck’s multiple sclerosis treatment Mavenclad

Unions call on US antitrust regulators to block $63bn ‘AbbVieGan’ merger

US antitrust authorities are coming under pressure from consumer groups and unions to block the proposed $63bn merger of AbbVie and Allergan.

Source: Pharmaphorum

Prostate drug may slow Parkinson's disease

A drug used to treat enlarged prostates may be a powerful medicine against Parkinson's disease, according to an international team of scientists.

Source: BBC

China passes new amendments to the Drug Administration Law

China's National People's Congress passed the final amendments to the Drug Administration Law, which will take effect on 1 December 2019.

Source: Bird & Bird

Study suggests antibiotic use before cancer treatment cuts survival time

Taking antibiotics in the month before starting immunotherapy dramatically reduces a cancer patient’s chances of survival, according to a study by scientists at Imperial College London.

Source: The Guardian

Approvals

Ofev (nintedanib)

The US FDA has approved Boehringer-Ingelheim’s treatment for systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease.

Source: FDA

Akynzeo (netupitant/
pelonosetron)

Helsinn and Mundipharma have gained approval for the oral formulation of Akynzeo for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in China.

Source: The Pharma Letter

Farxiga (dapagliflozin)

The US FDA has fast-tracked AstraZeneca’s treatment to reduce risk of cardiovascular death, or worsening of heart failure, in adults with reduced or preserved ejection fraction.

Source: FDA

Nourianz (istradefylline)

Kyowa Kirin’s Nourianz has been granted FDA approval as an add-on treatment to levodopa/carbidopa in adult patients with Parkinson’s disease experiencing "off" episodes.

Source: Kyowa Kirin