Generics company Zentiva is reported to be poised for a sale by current owner Advent International to US investment group GTCR – the second private equity handover of a European drugmaker this month. The Financial Times has said that Chicago-based GTCR has agreed a €4.1 billion (around $4.8 billion) deal to take control of the…
The UK is losing out to competitors in attracting investment in R&D, clinical trials, and capital projects due to a stubborn refusal to pay for innovative new medicines, according to the pharma industry. A report on pharma competitiveness, published by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), claims that the UK’s position for attracting…
MSD is scrapping a £1 billion ($1.35 billion) expansion of its UK operations – including a facility already under construction in London – saying the country does not value innovative medicines. The decision to abandon work on the R&D facility in King’s Cross and lay off 125 scientists and administrative staff is another body blow…
Eli Lilly’s fast-growing blood cancer drug Jaypirca could gain additional momentum thanks to a new trial suggesting it could move into the first-line setting. Reversible BTK inhibitor Jaypirca (pirtobrutinib) has been shown in the BRUIN CLL-313 to significantly improve progression-free survival compared to standard chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) in previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia or…
The FDA has set up a ‘green list’ of overseas sources for weight-loss ingredients in an attempt to block illegitimate and potentially unsafe supplies entering the US market. The list identifies sources of GLP-1 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from plants that operate in compliance with the FDA’s standards for manufacturing practices – based on an…
The FDA’s decision to publish complete response letters (CRLs) amounted to little more than a repackaging of existing information, but now it has gone a step further. The latest batch of CRLs to be made public in the US regulator’s drive towards what it calls “radical transparency” includes 89 previously unpublished letters, and comes with…
Telehealth startup Remedy Meds has expanded its position in the US market at a stroke with a deal to buy Thirty Madison in an all-stock deal valued at around $500 million. Short Hills, New Jersey-based Remedy Meds is just over a year old, having started operations last year, but has grown swiftly by tapping into…
Florida intends to become the first US state to end all vaccine mandates, including that children get shots before they attend school, in the latest expression of the undermining of the value of vaccination under the Trump administration. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and Governor Ron DeSantis announced the plan yesterday, saying they would not…
Germany’s Merck KGaA has been working hard to expand its healthcare product pipeline in recent months, and has now appointed industry veteran David Weinreich to oversee that process. Weinreich has been named global head of R&D and chief medical officer for Merck’s healthcare unit, joining the company from investment group Foresite Capital Management and its…
A three-minute test could play a role in diagnosing people at risk of developing dementia, spotting signs of cognitive decline years before other approaches, say researchers from the UK. The Fastball test asks people to remember a stream of images viewed on a screen whilst wearing an electroencephalogram (EEG) headset, and analyses the brain’s ability…