Plus the top stories of the week

This Week

Aug 4, 2023

AstraZeneca axes assets, inks Pfizer gene therapy deal and loses key R&D exec in Friday news flurry


Biogen, amid layoffs, ponies up $7.3B for rare disease specialist Reata and potential blockbuster Skyclarys


City of Hope's cancer-killing pill works like a snowstorm shutting down an airport


As COVID revenues disappoint, once-high-flying Pfizer looks at possible cost cuts


Pfizer takes scalpel to early-phase pipeline, slicing off RSV, eczema, sickle cell and cancer programs

 

Featured

AstraZeneca axes assets, inks Pfizer gene therapy deal and loses key R&D exec in Friday news flurry

It’s all change at AstraZeneca. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker not only revealed its second quarter earnings results, but also disclosed the elimination of several pipeline programs, the purchase of a portfolio of preclinical gene therapies from Pfizer and the upcoming departure of a key, long-serving R&D executive. 
11-14
Sep
Philadelphia, PA
 

Top Stories

Biogen, amid layoffs, ponies up $7.3B for rare disease specialist Reata and potential blockbuster Skyclarys

Biogen has revealed a proposal to acquire Reata Pharmaceuticals for $7.3 billion. The Texas-based rare disease specialist brings newly approved Skyclarys, the first treatment for the neurologic disorder Friedreich’s ataxia with peak sales potential of $1.5 billion.

City of Hope's cancer-killing pill works like a snowstorm shutting down an airport

Researchers from City of Hope have pinned down the mechanism behind an oral chemotherapy that is already being tested in humans, adding weight to the preclinical package of data underpinning the drug's potential in a range of solid tumors. 

As COVID revenues disappoint, once-high-flying Pfizer looks at possible cost cuts

Paxlovid generated just $143 million in worldwide sales for the second quarter, while mRNA vaccine Comirnaty brought home $1.4 billion. Against that backdrop, Pfizer reported total second quarter revenues of $12.7 billion, down a whopping 53% operationally from the same period last year.

Pfizer takes scalpel to early-phase pipeline, slicing off RSV, eczema, sickle cell and cancer programs

Pfizer is ringing the changes as it exits the second quarter, tossing out a midstage pneumococcal vaccine candidate and a handful of phase 1 assets including a respiratory syncytial virus prospect it picked up in last year’s ReViral takeover.

FDA's Peter Marks says gene editing breakthroughs have met regulatory reality

The FDA's Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., thinks gene editing—specifically base editing—could be a "game changer," but progress has been slow, likely due to discouragement with the regulatory process. 

Merck still scouting for M&A deals, even after $10.8B takeover of Prometheus

Merck’s $10.8 billion acquisition of Prometheus Biosciences earlier this year gave the New Jersey company increased diversity in its portfolio, much needed considering its overwhelming dependence on cancer juggernaut Keytruda. But buying out the San Diego immunology specialist has not satisfied Merck’s appetite for M&A, executives said.

Quest launches blood test for Alzheimer's disease aimed at general consumers

Listed for sale on the clinical testing giant's website, the AD-Detect beta amyloid test retails for $399.

Lundbeck, Otsuka target Alzheimer's caregivers in ad for expanded Rexulti label

Lundbeck and Otsuka are ramping up their pursuit of an Alzheimer’s disease niche. Months after winning an FDA nod for Rexulti in dementia-related agitation, the partners have launched an ad to let children of Alzheimer’s patients know a new treatment option is available.

Lupin Pharma recalls birth control pills deemed possibly ineffective

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, the U.S. unit of India’s Lupin Limited, issued a voluntary recall of two lots of birth control pills due to the potential that they may not be effective in preventing pregnancy.
 
Fierce podcasts

Don't miss an episode

'The Top Line': How to support patients during a drug shortage, plus this week's headlines

This week on "The Top Line," we discuss how to support patients during the cancer drug shortage, plus this week's headlines.
 

Resources

Whitepaper

Five ways to get the most from your lab and manufacturing facilities

Leading facilities practices and technologies can help improve the productivity of your research and manufacturing operations—and accelerate the journey from laboratory to saving lives.
Whitepaper

Key Drivers of Sales Force Strategy in Oncology

In oncology, traditional methods for determining sales force size & structure are no longer appropriate. This paper describes the multiple drivers of sales strategy in oncology markets today.
Whitepaper

Five ways to get the most from your lab and manufacturing facilities

Leading facilities practices and technologies can help improve the productivity of your research and manufacturing operations—and accelerate the journey from laboratory to saving lives.
Research

Reduce chemical lead times with just-in-time delivery

Learn how the right chemical inventory strategy helped save a mid-size CDMO millions of dollars while securing a stable supply of products with just-in-time delivery.
Webinar

Decipher the Blueprint for Your Clinical Development Transformation

Watch this webinar to learn how an end-to-end platform can simplify the systems landscape and help facilitate cross-functional collaboration, accelerate clinical development and centralize data for efficacious decision-making.
Paid Marketplace

Digital Guide to Commercializing Complex Therapeutics

New commercial models and resources address unique challenges associated with commercializing complex therapies.
Webinar

Novel Antibodies for the Characterization of CAR-T Cells

Download this webinar to learn how to avoid pitfalls when characterizing CAR-T cells in your development workflow, how to save time by using one antibody to examine your entire panel of CARs, and more.
Whitepaper

Improving the Patient Experience Through Research-Driven Design

Learn more about the current challenges and issues that eClinical technology providers are facing.
Whitepaper

Five Lessons from Biopharmaceutical Trials for MedTech Companies

Best practices from biopharma clinical studies for medical device manufacturers around the efficient collection and use of data to speed insights into product safety and efficacy
 

Industry Events

 

Upcoming Fierce Events

11-14
Sep
Philadelphia, PA
13
Sep
Philadelphia, PA
19-21
Sep
Virtual Event
26-28
Sep
Philadelphia, PA
5-6
Oct
San Diego, CA

View all events