| “Vincristine is our water...I can’t think of a disease in childhood cancer that doesn’t use vincristine,” Yoram Unguru, a Baltimore pediatric oncologist said after Teva announced it would discontinue the generic chemotherapy. Stepping up to fill the gap is Pfizer—a new role for the company in the dramas surrounding drug shortages. Manufacturing issues at its Hospira plants have, at times, led to injectable shortages of their own. But now, Pfizer is ramping up vincristine production by three to four times its usual output over the next few weeks. Read on below, along with our top stories of the week. | |
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Featured Story | | | Tuesday, October 15, 2019 Pfizer is playing a new role in the dramas that often surround drug shortages. While manufacturing issues at its Hospira unit have sometimes been responsible for hospital drug shortages, Pfizer is now trying to fill a serious shortfall after Teva discontinued production of a chemo drug used to cure children of serious cancers. |
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Top Stories Of The Week Tuesday, October 15, 2019 Eli Lilly is closing down its U.K.-based Erl Wood neuroscience in Surrey, leading to cuts and relocations. Monday, October 14, 2019 After repeated ethics or compliance breaches—from on-the-ground sales activities to decisions made at the very top—Novartis appears to have a systemic problem. To change that, the drugmaker needs to dig deep to find the root causes and apply its stated values to real-life decision-making, experts say. Saturday, October 12, 2019 Pfizer has posted detailed phase 3 results on its rival to Sanofi and Regeneron’s atopic dermatitis drug Dupixent. The efficacy results suggest the experimental oral therapy, abrocitinib, has a shot at challenging the blockbuster biologic incumbent for a major market. Wednesday, October 16, 2019 Sealing an eight-figure merger is no laughing matter: Just ask AbbVie and Allergan, two drugmakers fighting through regulatory hurdles to consummate their $63 billion deal. And even as a new Irish tax levy threatened to add hundreds of millions to the deal cost, Allergan shareholders gave it their blessing. Wednesday, October 16, 2019 MedImmune’s vice president of research and head of oncology R&D Ronald Herbst, Ph.D., has followed a series of other AstraZeneca and its biologics arm staffers out the door. Wednesday, October 16, 2019 A clinical trial of an artificial pancreas system showed it was able to outperform current treatments for people with Type 1 diabetes and help maintain blood sugar levels throughout the day as well as overnight. Monday, October 14, 2019 Bayer has signed onto sprawling new collaborations with 11 digital health startups spanning areas such as oncology, ophthalmology, pulmonology, radiology, digital therapeutics and cardiovascular health. Tuesday, October 15, 2019 Sanofi, which has been testing robots and new production methods, has finally pulled it all together into a near sentient manufacturing operation. Having successfully produced process qualification runs at its Framingham, Massachusetts plant, its says its next generation biologics facility is now ready for prime time. Monday, October 14, 2019 Yale scientists have combined the gene-editing system CRISPR with a type of gene therapy designed to help the immune system find tough-to-spot tumor cells. The technology showed promise in mouse models of triple-negative breast cancer, melanoma and pancreatic cancer. Friday, October 11, 2019 Welcome to OmegaTown, also known as Newport, Rhode Island. This past summer, Reckitt Benckiser set up camp in the seaside fishing community to put omega-3s to the test. Its goal? Find out if the majority of people (82%) who believe they can get all the omega-3s they need through diet are right. Resources Sponsored by: Medidata Simplified filing, improved oversight, audit readiness: is your eTMF system delivering best-in-class benefits? Sponsored by: Colorcon® Learn about how you better manage product authentication and battle drug counterfeiting with innovative solutions. Sponsored by: Cortellis, a Clarivate Analytics Solution Download this report for full details of Life sciences M&As in the second quarter of 2019 with notes and trends. Sponsored by: Elligo Health Research Find out how it leverages real-world data and novel IntElligo Research Stack™ technology to help researchers battle rising costs, cumbersome processes, and stagnant participation — bridging the gap between research and care. Sponsored by: Life Image The time has finally come when medical imaging can be effectively utilized into the RWE process. Read the whitepaper on the best practices for incorporating Real World Imaging.™ Sponsored by: Patheon, by Thermo Fisher Scientific Is your API development on track? Sponsored by: BioAnalytix, Inc. Download the White Paper and learn how detailed characterization can guide successful development of gene therapy products. Sponsored by: ON24 Compare digital program performance and audience engagement among your life sciences peers. Sponsored by: Decision Resources Group Clinically Integrated Networks are vehicles for powerful IDNs to extend their influence into the physician sector and play a key role for IDNs trying to pave a path to becoming a self-contained healthcare ecosystem. Sponsored by: Reprints Desk, Inc. Slashing your R&D costs is easier than you think. Sponsored by: Roche and IQVIA A global landscape study of funding trends and innovations. Sponsored by: Blue Matter, strategic consultants in the life sciences White paper providing an overview of precision medicine in oncology, as well as a look ahead at future developments and keys to success for pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies. Sponsored by: Catalent Download the case study to learn about the clinical supply management tools that helped a small sized pharma company during phase III of a multi-arm oncology study. Sponsored by: Catalent Watch a short video on demand led supply model. It is designed to meet the needs of patients, clinical sites, clinical team and sponsors and results in shorter lead time, less waste, less stock out risk and no booklet labels. Sponsored by: Catalent Download the eBook to explore a proactive approach for clinical supply management. | 