| Pfizer is merging the off-patent drugs franchise under its Upjohn brand with generics heavyweight Mylan—combining two under-pressure businesses into a new giant with projected 2020 revenues of $19 billion to $20 billion. It fulfills the dreams long-held by some Pfizer analysts and investors who’ve hoped for a generics hive-off, and brings new leadership to Mylan: CEO Heather Bresch plans to end her stint at the company—which spans 28 years and a series of controversies—after the deal is done in mid-2020. Those stories and more make up our top reads this week. | |
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Featured Story | | | Monday, July 29, 2019 In a deal that would finally deliver on years of split-up talk, the pharma giant has agreed to merge its off-patent drugs business with Mylan. And in the process, Mylan investors will finally get what they want—new leadership. |
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Top Stories Of The Week Tuesday, July 30, 2019 Eli Lilly has dropped a PD-L1/TIM-3 bispecific antibody from its clinical pipeline. The asset moved into a phase 1 advanced solid tumor trial late last year but was culled from the pipeline before delivering final data. Monday, July 29, 2019 Entresto’s blockbuster turn in 2018 was a long time coming for Novartis, which held on to a $5 billion vision for the drug even as its launch lagged. Those dreams took another hit Monday when Entresto flopped a phase 3 trial. Tuesday, July 30, 2019 Two months after posting the first clinical data for a KRAS inhibitor, Amgen is at it again. The Big Pharma reported in its second-quarter earnings presentation that AMG 510 shrank tumors in patients with colorectal and appendiceal cancers. Friday, July 26, 2019 For Pfizer’s blockbuster immunology drug Xeljanz, an FDA safety communication has now turned into a boxed warning. And forget the drug's approval as a first-line ulcerative colitis treatment, at least for now. Monday, July 29, 2019 During Mylan CEO Heather Bresch's 28-year stint at the company, it has utterly transformed into a generics giant—and courted controversy along the way. Now, Bresch says she's stepping aside to clear the way for an even bigger version of Mylan. Friday, July 26, 2019 A phase 3 trial of Johnson & Johnson’s multiple sclerosis prospect ponesimod has met its primary endpoint. The readout sets J&J up to file for approval this year, boosting its prospects of getting a return on its $30 billion takeover of Actelion. Friday, July 26, 2019 Though Editas and Allergan are not the first companies to test a CRISPR-based medicine in humans—that distinction goes to CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex—their treatment is the first that edits DNA within the body. Tuesday, July 30, 2019 Merck in the past has faced investor criticism that it’s a one-trick pony with Keytruda. But with a trick that good, analysts say, why worry? Monday, July 29, 2019 New research reveals the protein alpha-synuclein, which has been implicated in some brain disorders, actually plays a vital role in preventing the death of neurons in Parkinson’s. The findings could inspire new treatments. Friday, July 26, 2019 Merck’s Gardasil is not just a moneymaker, it is a job creator. Just weeks after announcing a Virginia expansion that comes with 100 jobs, the drugmaker says it will build a new plant for Gardasil in North Carolina with 425 more. Monday, July 29, 2019 Exact Sciences has moved to acquire Genomic Health, with plans to bring their cancer screening and diagnostic tests up through a combined commercial organization of about 1,000 employees, including sales, marketing and reimbursement staff. 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