Upcoming events – catalysts approach for Catalyst and Oxurion
Catalyst hopes to catch a break in more rare diseases, while phase II success could support Oxurion’s reinvention.
Novartis needs new launches to keep up momentum
A strong second quarter pushed Novartis’s stock up 5% this morning, but Kymriah continues to look weak, and the jury is still out on Zolgensma.
De novo device clearances fall out of fashion
The overall rate of device approvals in 2019 is holding steady on last year – but the types of approvals are different.
Medtech
Incontinence failure puts Viveve under stress
With little cash in the bank and creditors soon to start pressing, a trial failure is a disaster for Viveve.
Company Events
Medicines Company goes on the hunt for heartening Orion data
The Medicines Company needs to show decent efficacy and pristine safety with its long-lasting PCSK9 inclisiran to stand a chance of disrupting the market.
FDA adcom to pronounce on paclitaxel-coated devices
The recent disappointing sales of drug-coated devices for peripheral arterial disease look likely to become the norm.
Keytruda looks to secure a June double play
Merck & Co faces two US FDA decisions in June, and neither is an obvious guarantee of success.
Interviews
Probiodrug changes its name but remembers its roots
Probiodrug changes its name to Vivoryon and expands its focus to include oncology, but insists that it is still first and foremost an Alzheimer’s company.
Emmaus tries to move forwards by reversing
The company insists that its sickle cell disease therapy Endari still has a future, despite questionable efficacy and the approach of new treatments.
Liquid biopsies: the future of cancer diagnosis?
Blood tests could be faster and cheaper than tissue biopsies, but a Thermo Fisher exec argues they are likely to be more of an add-on technique.