LONDON – There was a marked increase in the projected return on investment in pharma R&D in 2021, which rose to 7%, the highest level since 2014. That was up from a lowly 2.7% in 2020 and – even worse – 1.8% in 2019, according to the 12th annual report tracking ROI by the consultants Deloitte. But while 7% is a significant improvement, it is still below the projected ROI when the first edition of ‘Measuring the Return from Pharmaceutical Innovation’ was published in 2010, in response to concerns that pharma was spending more and more on R&D while getting less out. At that point, projected ROI was 10.1%.
Cansino Biologics Inc. has received marketing approval from the NMPA for its ACYW-135 meningococcal conjugate vaccine, Menhycia, making it the first of its kind to be authorized in China. The approval marks “an important step in accelerating the development of China’s meningococcal vaccine immunization strategy,” the company said.
Merck & Co. Inc., building on a year-old deal with Aligos Therapeutics Inc., has moved to in-license an early stage nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) oligonucleotide program Aligos had previously advanced independently. The amended deal also gives Merck the right to add a new NASH target to the partnership, in addition to those already part of the agreement. With Aligos eligible to receive up to $460 million in development and commercialization milestones as well as tiered royalties on net sales per target, its rewards could reach $1.38 billion.
Combining the metabolites glutamine or inosine with ampicillin (AMP) could represent a new therapeutic approach to antimicrobial resistance that also avoids the development of acquired resistance to next-generation antibiotics, according to a new Chinese study led by scientists at Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) in Guangzhou.
Antibiotics continue to take a beating as top-line results from Summit Therapeutics Inc.’s phase III study of ridinilazole failed to meet the primary endpoint for sustained clinical response and treating C. difficile infection (CDI). Looking for an upside on its lead candidate’s results, the company noted participants treated with ridinilazole had substantially less recurrence of CDI, the most common cause of diarrhea in hospitalized patients, as compared to those who were administered vancomycin (nominal p-value = 0.0002).
Daré Bioscience Inc.’s investors will have to wait a while for details regarding a commercialization partnership centered on Xaciato (2% clindamycin phosphate gel, formerly known as DARE-BV1) as a single-dose treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV) in females 12 years of age and older. Approved Dec. 7, Xaciato is expected to launch next year.
Stimulating the innate immune system with defective viral genomes (DVG)-based strategy provided broad-spectrum protection against RNA viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory diseases in animal models, according to a U.S.-led international collaborative study reported in the Nov. 17, 2021, edition of Cell.
What one analyst called “the single most important” nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor in development – Merck & Co. Inc.’s islatravir – has met rocky terrain, with the firm and its partner, Gilead Sciences Inc., pausing combo trials.
“I was not always someone who would have advertised probiotics,” Michael Otto told BioWorld. And it’s easy to see why. At this point, probiotics are more often dubious wellness offerings than evidence-based therapeutics. Part of the issue is that the mechanisms by which probiotics are supposed to exert their effects are mostly vague. Molecular mechanisms that could account for claimed health benefits are few and far between. But Otto, who is chief of the pathogen molecular genetics section at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease, and his colleagues have identified one such molecular mechanism.
Following an FDA priority review, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.'s oral antiviral, maribavir, has won U.S. approval as the first drug in the country to treat resistant cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and disease in adult and pediatric transplant recipients. The drug will be marketed as Livtencity.
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