Starboard takes activist stake in J&J consumer spinout Kenvue
Less than 14 months after becoming a standalone company, Johnson & Johnson’s consumer healthcare spinout Kenvue is staring down an activist investor. The investor, Starboard Value, has built a...
View ArticleLilly files more lawsuits over sales of copycat Zepbound
Eli Lilly has sued three more companies that claim to be selling versions of tirzepatide, the main ingredient in the drugmaker’s weight loss treatment Zepbound. The companies sued by Lilly include an...
View ArticleBiden administration calls for expanded contraception coverage
New rules that would require most insurers to cover over-the-counter contraceptives at no cost and without a prescription were proposed by the Biden administration on Monday. The move comes just weeks...
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AvenCell gets $112M to build switchable CAR-T therapies for ‘the last...
AvenCell Therapeutics on Tuesday said it collected $112 million to continue clinical studies of two experimental acute myeloid leukemia CAR-T cell therapies. The Series B raise comes despite cold...
View ArticleRoche, Genentech end anti-tau Alzheimer’s drug collaboration with UCB
UCB will advance its anti-tau antibody for Alzheimer’s disease solo after Roche and Genentech walked away from the asset known as bepranemab. In 2020, Roche and Genentech spent $120 million upfront and...
View ArticleFDA hits Camurus with CRL for acromegaly therapy over manufacturing issues
The FDA handed a CRL to the Swedish biotech Camurus for its hormone disorder therapy over “facility-related deficiencies” at a third-party manufacturer. The therapy, dubbed CAM2029, had a PDUFA date of...
View Article#HLTH24: Former Amazon leader is betting the future of healthcare will blend...
LAS VEGAS — The future of how healthcare is delivered will be a hybrid mix of online and in-person care, much like how people shop both online and in-person. That’s according to Nworah Ayogu, head of...
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#HLTH24: Experts debate the way AI can transform mental healthcare
LAS VEGAS — AI may have a part to play in delivering mental healthcare, despite the empathetic and human nature of the specialty, but experts differ on what is considered safe. Leslie Witt Instead of...
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Pfizer activist Starboard says company must be held 'accountable' for R&D
Activist investor Starboard Value said Pfizer’s executives haven’t delivered on what they once called one of the best pipelines in the industry, and need to be held accountable by the company’s board...
View Article#HLTH24: 'It’s not right.' Califf slams pharma over weight loss drug prices
LAS VEGAS — FDA Commissioner Robert Califf criticized pharma companies on Monday for charging high prices for weight loss drugs. Califf called the profit margin in the US for the drugs “outrageous.”...
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Ahead of Novo’s CagriSema readout, Lilly returns to a promising new class of...
In its quest to stay at the top of the obesity drug market, Eli Lilly is following in Novo Nordisk’s footsteps by pursuing a new class of weight loss drugs. The Indianapolis drug giant said this month...
View ArticleMacroGenics sells rights to breast cancer drug; Rice’s new biotech accelerator
Plus, news about Annexon, Passkey Therapeutics, XOMA Royalty and Twist Bioscience: MacroGenics sells breast cancer drug rights for up to $75 million: The company is handing over Margenza’s rights to...
View ArticleOtsuka’s cytokine-targeting drug for IgAN clears Phase 3 hurdle
Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s 2018 purchase of Visterra seems to be paying off after its anti-APRIL antibody passed a registrational test in a rare kidney disease. The IgA nephropathy (IgAN) antibody, named...
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Editas pivots away from ex vivo sickle cell therapy in favor of in vivo approach
Editas Medicine is ousting its ex vivo sickle cell and beta thalassemia gene therapy to instead focus on an in vivo treatment for the diseases. The company announced Tuesday that it’s seeking to...
View ArticleSamsung Bio inks largest deal yet worth $1.24B with unnamed Asian pharma
Samsung Biologics has so far secured at least five major contracts this year, and its latest with an unnamed Asia-based pharmaceutical company is its largest ever, worth $1.24 billion. The new contract...
View ArticleICER slightly softens its recommendation on Pfizer's ATTR-CM drug price
A US drug pricing watchdog has raised the range by which it thinks Pfizer’s heart muscle disease drug tafamidis, marketed as Vyndamax and Vyndaqel, should be priced annually, but it’s still...
View ArticleLawyers predict Biosecure passage in Congress' lame duck session
BETHESDA, MD — A panel of DC-focused lawyers predicted that the anti-China Biosecure Act is likely headed for final passage during the congressional “lame duck” period between the election and the...
View ArticleStarboard says Kenvue skin and beauty lines need to be reinvigorated
Starboard Value, the activist investor pushing for changes at Pfizer, unveiled its goals for another healthcare company — Johnson & Johnson’s consumer spinout Kenvue. In a presentation Tuesday at...
View ArticleAmgen preps to launch Eylea biosimilar years early after Regeneron loses appeal
Amgen is moving forward with the launch of Pavblu, its biosimilar to Regeneron’s blockbuster Eylea, following an appeals court decision that ruled against competitor Regeneron. “We look forward to...
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Be Bio raises $82M for work on B cell therapy in hemophilia B
Be Bio’s $82 million round announced Tuesday will help the Cambridge, MA-based biotech fund work for two of its drugs in development, including the first-ever B cell therapy to enter human studies for...
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