Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) closed its $30 billion buy of Swiss biotech firm Actelion, the company reported today. The US healthcare giant bought Actelion in an all-cash deal for $280 per share. The acquisition is expected to add $1.3 billion in sales for Johnson & Johnson in 2017, according to the company. “We are very […]
Pharmaceuticals
Drug delivery devices: Here is West’s plan for success
West Pharmaceutical Services is betting that an embrace of human factors engineering and experiential design will allow its drug delivery devices such as its SmartDose and SelfDose to stand apart from the crowd. People are more likely to take their medications properly if a device is easy to use, Eric Resnick, vice president and chief […]
Mallinckrodt responds to probe into pricey injection pain-killer
Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:MNK) issued a response today to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and her probe into the company’s pricing strategies for its injectable pain-killer, Ofirmev. McCaskill wrote to the company at the end of May, suggesting that that the company’s price increases could have cost hospitals millions and may have pushed healthcare practitioners to use cheaper painkillers, including highly […]
Study: PharmaJet’s needle-free injection tech linked to higher workplace flu shot compliance
PharmaJet touted its needle-free injection technology in a study that evaluated the use of its device in company-hosted flu clinics. The report, which was published in ONdrugDelivery, described the experience that patients and healthcare providers had with its Stratis needle-free injection system in influenza clinics hosted by companies including BP Oil, Cargill, Xerox and the Denver International […]
Braeburn names former Teva exec as new president, CEO | Personnel Moves – June 14, 2017
Braeburn Pharmaceuticals said last week that it named Michael Derkacz as president and CEO of the buprenorphine implant-maker. Most recently, Derkacz worked as senior VP and head of global central nervous system and pain therapeutic areas for Teva Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:TEVA). Behshad Sheldon, who helped to found Braeburn in 2012, is slated to step down from Braeburn […]
Delpor wins $1.5m NIH grant for diabetes drug implant
Delpor Inc. said today that it won a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to support the development of its exenatide implant. The implant was designed for patients with Type II diabetes and features Delpor’s Nanopor technology, which uses passive diffusion to deliver therapeutic levels of exenatide […]
Adapt Pharma touts usability data for Narcan nasal spray
Adapt Pharma touted data today from 2 human factors studies that evaluated the usability of its Narcan nasal spray by adolescents and people with low literacy. The Dublin-based company’s product is a ready-to-use, needle-free device that delivers a single dose of naloxone in a nasal spray to someone experiencing an opioid overdose and does not require […]
Pulmatrix inks licensing deal for novel inhaled kinase inhibitors
Pulmatrix (NSDQ:PULM) said today that it inked an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with Janssen Biotech subsidiary RespiVert. According to the deal, Pulmatrix will have access to the company’s portfolio of novel kinase inhibitors. The agreement covers respiratory and oncology indications for the drug candidates and Pulmatrix said it plans to take over the portfolio’s global […]
Cleveland Clinic spinout Infuseon wins FDA nod for CNS drug delivery device
Cleveland Clinic spinout Infuseon Therapeutics said today that its novel central nervous system delivery device won 510(k) clearance from the FDA as a therapeutic delivery device. The company’s Cleveland Multiport Catheter, which won FDA clearance in March, was designed to effectively deliver therapeutics to the brain. Usually, the blood brain barrier prevents drugs delivered in […]
Braeburn, Knight seek Health Canada nod for opioid dependence implant
Braeburn Pharmaceuticals and Knight Therapeutics (TSE:GUD) said today that Health Canada has agreed to review Knight’s new drug submission for Probuphine, a buprenorphine subdermal implant designed to treat opioid drug dependence. In February last year, Braeburn and Knight inked an exclusive distribution and sublicense deal, giving Knight the exclusive right to distribute Probuphine in Canada. Braeburn’s […]