Merck & Co. Inc. is calling a halt to a high-profile phase II/III study of verubecestat after data monitors found "virtually no chance of finding a positive clinical effect" for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Gilead Sciences Inc., pressured by declining sales in its hepatitis C franchise and slower than anticipated growth in its HIV line-up, is putting its best foot forward at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle this week.

Zosano Pharma Corp.'s migraine-targeting zolmitriptan-coated microneedle patch, M207, met both co-primary endpoints of the company's pivotal phase III Zotrip trial, delivering freedom from pain at two hours for 41.5 percent of treated patients and relieving the most bothersome symptom for a majority of those treated at the same time point.

Tracon Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported that adding its lead candidate, TRC105 (carotuximab), to Avastin (bevacizumab) didn't appear to help patients with recurrent glioblastoma enjoy any more time without a worsening of their condition than Avastin monotherapy does.

Leaders at four academic drug centers have proposed that colleagues battle high cancer drug prices by resisting the temptation to sell promising candidates to the highest bidder. Instead, they advocate for enlisting generic and biosimilar drugmakers to produce de-risked candidates governed by price-capping agreements.

Six months later than first expected, FDA approval for Amgen Inc.'s secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) treatment, Parsabiv (etelcalcetide), has arrived.

A phase III trial testing the ability of Advaxis Inc.’s lead immunotherapy candidate, axalimogene filolisbac, to improve disease-free survival among patients with high-risk locally advanced cervical cancer has enrolled and dosed its first patient. The FDA fast-tracked study, called AIM2CERV, is expected to enroll 450 patients and is being run under a special protocol assessment.

Estimate-beating fourth-quarter earnings for Amgen Inc. pushed company shares about $7.95 higher to close at $167.53 on Friday as sales of its cholesterol treatment Repatha (evolocumab) rose and a closely watched phase III trial suggested that combining the antibody with optimized statin treatment could reduce the risk of heart attack and other CV events in patients with arterial plaque buildups.

Fortress Biotech Inc. subsidiary Mustang Bio Inc. closed on a $94.5 million private placement financing. It plans to use the funds to advance its two lead chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) immunotherapies, MB-101 and MB-102, through phase I data readouts early next year and to grow its pipeline by exploring additional applications for its CAR T technology beyond its initial focus in brain cancer and acute myeloid leukemia.