HONG KONG – Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH will add to its lung cancer pipeline with a drug from Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. as part of a deal that could, in the end, be worth as much as $730 million to the South Korean firm. Read More
Otsuka Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, and H. Lundbeck, A/S, of Valby, Denmark, said the FDA expanded the label of Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) for extended-release injectable suspension to include a new injection site, the deltoid muscle of the arm. Healthcare providers will now have the option for either a gluteal or deltoid injection site for administering Abilify Maintena to patients with schizophrenia. Read More
Bionomics Ltd., of Adelaide, Australia, appointed Tony Colasin chief business officer. Colasin will be based in San Diego and will lead corporate development, including business development and strategic opportunities. Read More
NEW DELHI – In a move that could cost India's generics industry more than $1 billion, the European Commission (EC) has banned 700 Indian generic drugs, based on flaws detected during inspections of clinical trials conducted by Hyderabad-based contract research organization GVK Biosciences Ltd. The flaws pertained mainly to "data manipulations" of electrocardiograms conducted of patients during studies on several generic medicines. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 4, 2015.) Read More
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Probably the most anticipated sessions at the recent BioBusiness Asia conference, part of BioTaiwan 2015, were panels featuring advice from partnering executives at firms famous for their external collaboration efforts, who described how a mix of traditional and nontraditional partnering models can bolster early research and maximize innovation. Read More
HONG KONG – A proposed annual adjustment on the pricing of pharmaceuticals and medical devices in Japan backfired after manufacturers publicly opposed it. A multicountry coalition of organizations said the changes would inhibit growth and investment in the entire health care sector, impede innovation and adversely impact access by patients. Read More
LONDON – "I believe the world is on the verge of an effective Ebola vaccine." So said Marie-Paule Kieny, assistant director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) announcing positive results for the phase III trial of the Merck and Co. Inc./Newlink Genetics Corp. VSV-EBOV vaccine in Guinea. Read More
TOKYO – Hoping to combine the affordability of biosimilars with the promise of combination cancer therapies, London-based Astrazeneca plc is making its first foray into biosimilar development through a joint venture with Fujifilm Kyowa Kirin Biologics Co. Ltd. (FKB). Read More
