The first therapies for several rare diseases were among medicines given the green light by European regulators at their monthly meeting. The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) gave a positive opinion for Sanofi SA’s Xenpozyme (olipudase alfa) for two types of Niemann-Pick disease and Eiger Biopharmaceuticals Inc.’s Zokinvy (lonafarnib) for children with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome or progeroid laminopathies. PTC Therapeutics Inc.’s Upstaza (eladocagene exuparvovec), the first medicine for adults and children with aromatic L-amino decarboxylase deficiency, was also backed by the CHMP.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare finished the first quarter – and Japan’s fiscal year – with a bang, handing out 32 approvals in the month of March. It marked a massive jump from previous months, which saw 13 products approved in February 2022 and 12 in January 2022. A total of nine products were approved in December 2021.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare finished the first quarter – and Japan’s fiscal year – with a bang, handing out 32 approvals in the month of March. It marked a massive jump from previous months, which saw 13 products approved in February 2022 and 12 in January 2022. A total of nine products were approved in December 2021.
Sanofi SA’s enzyme replacement therapy, Xenpozyme (olipudase alfa), has been approved for use in Japan, making it the world’s first and only approved therapy to treat acid sphingomyelinase deficiency (ASMD), also known as Niemann-Pick type B disease. Sanofi’s executive vice president and global head of R&D, John Reed, hailed it as a “watershed moment” that was the culmination of 20 years of research.
The deal that could bring IGM Biosciences Inc. more than $6 billion is 2022’s largest and cracks the BioWorld top 10 list as the ninth biggest ever. Sanofi SA and IGM agreed to develop, manufacture and commercialize immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody agonists in treating cancer and immunology/inflammation targets. IGM is getting $150 million up front once the deal closes, which the company expects to happen in the second quarter of 2022.
Investors didn’t respond well to the U.S. FDA’s briefing document for the March 30 advisory committee meeting on Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) candidate. Shortly after the materials for the adcom were posted Monday, Amylyx (NASDAQ:AMLX) dropped from a morning high of $25.68 per share to an all-time low of $10.49 in the heaviest trading since the company went public in January. With share volume exceeding 15 million, Amylyx rebounded somewhat, ending the day at $16.01, down nearly 36% from its March 25 close of $25.
Former JHL Biotech Inc. CEO Racho Jordanov and former Chief Operating Officer Rose Lin were sentenced for their respective roles in conspiring to commit trade secret theft and wire fraud exceeding $101 million. The pair last summer admitted to obtaining confidential, proprietary, and trade-secret information from Roche Holding AG’s Genentech Inc. unit and using what they stole to reduce expenses and hasten the timeline of JHL’s efforts to develop biosimilars.
Former JHL Biotech Inc. CEO Racho Jordanov and former Chief Operating Officer Rose Lin were sentenced for their respective roles in conspiring to commit trade secret theft and wire fraud exceeding $101 million.
Sanofi SA has suffered a setback in its bid to find a successor to Astrazeneca plc’s breast cancer drug Faslodex (fulvestrant) as amcenestrant failed to improve progression-free survival in advanced breast cancer in a mid-stage trial.
2023 may be a pivotal year for biosimilars in the U.S. with a number of approved Humira (adalimumab) biosimilars set for staggered launches under agreements with Abbvie Inc. How successful those launches are, including the launch of Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH’s interchangeable, Cyltezo, and potential other interchangeables, will be determined in large part by three pharmacy benefit managers that together control the prescription drug formularies for nearly 80% of Americans covered by Medicare and private insurance.
