Merck and the pitfalls of biopharma success
The developer of Keytruda is starting to look like a one-drug company; what must it do to avoid becoming the next Abbvie?
Big hitters eye Sjögren’s syndrome white space
Orencia’s late-stage failure in Sjögren’s has dashed hopes of a therapy soon, but the mid-stage pipeline is crowded, with Novartis, Glaxosmithkline and Galapagos all…
Takeda casts doubt on the remaining approach to amyloidosis
After last year’s flop of Prothena’s NEOD001, Takeda’s Ninlaro fails to treat the underlying cause of the non-genetic form of this disease.
Reality bites for Macrogenics
Hopes are fading for margetuximab in breast cancer, which looks unlikely to show an overall survival benefit in the Sophia study.
Price fixing case caps a terrible week for generics
Shares in generics firms tumble in the wake of a huge lawsuit in the US alleging industry-wide price fixing, signalling many more years of pain for this sector.
Boehringer’s digital drive starts bearing fruit
Less than two years after setting up its BI X digital lab, Boehringer Ingelheim is ready to start clinical trials of a programme monitoring speech patterns to diagnose…
Should gene therapy patients be asked to pay?
The price in value-based payment deals should by definition be justified, so why is patient cost-sharing part of the calculation? Spark covers this cost, but there is no…
After Alzheimer’s collapse, Biogen must win Tecfidera patent challenge
A successful Mylan challenge would see generic entry within two years – though Biogen has fought off copycats before.
How to pay for gene therapies in developing nations
With rich countries like the US finding it hard to fund gene therapies, it is worth asking whether these projects will ever reach patients in developing countries. And if…
Kickstarting ideas
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