Citing the lack of clear evidence that vaccine protection against severe COVID-19 disease is substantially waning in the EU in people younger than 80, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the EMA’s COVID-19 task force concluded that it’s too early to consider using a fourth dose, or second booster, of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in the general population.
Still reeling from the impact COVID-19 has had on its research activities and funding, Cancer Research UK is to launch a new organization combining all its drug discovery expertise in a single team, with a single portfolio, later this month.
Four biopharma companies are pooling some of their chemical data and making it public for the first time as part of the pioneering stage of a European effort to reduce the need for animal testing in drug development.
European biotechnology firms engaged in drug discovery and development raised $1.96 billion in equity investment during the first quarter. That tally represents a drop of 67% on the $5.888 billion invested during the same quarter of 2021, when the COVID-19 crisis drove global and European biotechnology investing to unprecedented levels.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine continuing to disrupt thousands of clinical trials throughout the region, the European Commission, the EMA and the Heads of Medicines Agencies are developing advice to help sponsors mitigate the issues.
Leading clinicians in the U.K. have set out a blueprint for integrating pharmacogenomic testing into prescribing in all cases where there is a known association between a gene variant and how an individual will respond – or not – to a particular drug.
The challenging financial environment of 2022 will lead to an increase in partnerships, according to representatives of the two big Swiss biopharma companies, Roche Holding AG and Novartis AG.
Janssen Pharmaceutical Cos, Inc.’s CAR T-cell therapy, Carvykti (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), looks set for approval in Europe after endorsement by regulators for advanced multiple myeloma. At its monthly meeting, the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended Carvykti for adults with relapsed and refractory disease who have received at least three prior therapies and whose cancer has worsened since their last treatment.
Building on its partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) to improve access in Sub-Saharan Africa to vaccines, drugs and medical technologies, the EU committed at least €24.5 million (nearly US$27 million) to fund projects aimed at tackling some of the barriers to that access.
While the focus of much U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spring statement 2022 was on the rising cost of living, there was welcome relief for life sciences and research-based industries as part of a drive to restore economic growth.