Offering $2.2 billion for Rapt Therapeutics Inc. and gaining its long-acting lead drug, ozureprubart, for food allergy and other indications, GSK plc is positioning itself to compete with market leader Xolair (omalizumab), developed by Roche AG’s Genentech unit and Novartis AG. Read More
Corvus Pharmaceuticals Inc. rolled out new positive data to prove its thesis on the value of blocking IL-2-inducible T-cell kinase in atopic dermatitis (AD), and the company’s first-in-class approach “could shake up cancer and autoimmune disorders,” Wainwright analyst Swayampakula Ramakanth said when he started coverage Jan. 2. Read More
Astrazeneca plc is paying up to $630 million to acquire China rights to Abelzeta's Pharma Inc.’s C-CAR031 (AZD5851), an autologous glypican 3-targeting CAR T, securing global rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize the CAR T for liver cancer. Read More
China’s National Medical Products Administration has accepted for review Grand Pharmaceutical Group Ltd./Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.’s NDA for TLX-591-CDx (Illuccix, gallium Ga 68 PSMA-11), a radionuclide-drug conjugate for diagnosing prostate cancer. Read More
Neuropsychiatry specialist, Exciva GmbH raised €51 million (US$59.9 million) in a series B round to fund a phase II/III trial of Deraphan, a combination therapy for treating agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Read More
The range of effects caused by rhinoviruses – the pathogens responsible for the common cold – motivated scientists at Yale University to study the human nasal epithelium and uncover a previously undescribed defense mechanism. The interferon-mediated protective response in these cells can limit infection, whereas a maladaptive response tends to worsen it. Based on these findings, the researchers have identified potential therapeutic targets to reduce inflammation associated with rhinovirus infection. Read More
After passing on one skinny label case a few years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to delve into the dark hole the Federal Circuit has dug for drug label carveouts that allow generic drugs and biosimilars to come to market even though some indications of the reference drug may still be protected by exclusivities or patents. The high court granted cert Jan. 16 to Hikma Pharmaceuticals v. Amarin Pharma Inc., which revolves around Hikma’s marketing of its generic version of Amarin’s blockbuster drug, Vascepa (icosapent ethyl). Read More
The U.S. Department of Justice said recoveries under the False Claims Act in fiscal year 2025 reached a record of more than $6.8 billion, more than 80% of which came from health care cases. Read More
Two former Spero Therapeutics Inc. executives are on the hook for a total of $187,500 in civil penalties in a settlement resolving U.S. SEC allegations of issuing misleading statements centered on the FDA’s evaluation of Spero’s lead drug candidate that resulted in a 64% stock drop in May 2022. Read More
