Insulin makers have faced questioning this year for their drug pricing practices – a class-action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts in January alleges that Sanofi (NYSE:SNY), Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) conspired to raise their list prices to get access to pharmacy benefit managers’ preferred lists, instead of competing with each other […]
Pharmaceuticals
Pfizer collaborates to improve access to injectable contraceptive
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) said yesterday that it inked a multi-year extension of its collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation to improve access to the company’s injectable contraceptive, Sayana Press, for women in developing countries. The pharma giant’s product uses Becton Dickinson‘s (NYSE:BDX) Uniject delivery system to administer a long-acting, […]
Nanoscale ‘slingshot’ shoots drug to infection site
Researchers from the University of Rome Tor Vergata and the University of Montreal have reported the design and synthesis of a nanoscale molecular slingshot made of DNA that could potentially shoot and target drugs to specific regions of the human body. The slingshot is made of a synthetic DNA strand that can be loaded with […]
Novocure touts quality of life data for Optune, chemo combo
Novocure (NSDQ:NVCR) touted health-related quality of life analyses from a pivotal Phase III trial combining its Optune device with standard temozolomide chemotherapy for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. The data showed that adding Optune to temozolomide did not negatively impact health-related quality of life, except for itchy skin which the company attributed to skin irritation […]
FDA approves first ALS treatment in over 2 decades
The FDA recently announced that it has approved the drug Radicava (edaravone) to help treat patients who have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, according to the ALS Association. Motor neurons in the brain […]
New medicines could eliminate uterine fibroid surgeries
Decisions Resources Group, a healthcare research and data company, suggests that the launch of new medicines could be a long-term management alternative to uterine fibroids surgeries over the next 10 years. Novel selective progesterone receptor modulators (SPRMs) like Allergan/Gedeon Richter’s ulipristal, Bayer’s vilaprisan and Repros’s Proellex – and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH) antagonists like AbbVie’s elagolix, […]
Regeneron posts mixed Q1 results, Eylea growth slows
Shares in Regeneron (NSDQ:REGN) rose today after the company beat revenue expectations on The Street with its 1st quarter financial results. The company’s total sales rose to $1.32 billion, exceeding analysts’ estimate of $1.30 billion. Regeneron’s bottom line jumped 37% to $248.9 million. Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were $2.92, which missed analysts’ […]
Pfizer posts mixed Q1 results
Shares in Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) fell today after the pharma giant missed sales expectations, but beat earnings estimates on Wall Street with its 1st quarter results. The N.Y.-based company posted profits of $3.12 billion, or 51¢ per share, on sales of $12.78 billion for the 3 months ended March 31, for bottom-line growth of 3% on sales loss […]
Merck tops Q1 earnings, revenue estimates
Shares in Merck (NYSE:MRK) rose today after the company met expectations on Wall Street with its 1st quarter results. The Kenilworth, N.J.-based company posted profits of $1.55 billion, or 56¢ per share, on sales of $9.43 billion for the 3 months ended March 31, for bottom-line growth of 18.3% on sales growth of 1.3% compared with the […]
FDA OKs BioDelivery Sciences’ Bunavail opioid dependence film
BioDelivery Sciences International (NSDQ:BDSI) said today that the FDA approved a supplemental new drug application for its Bunavail buprenorphine and naloxone buccal film. The revised indication allows patients to use the product to initiate buprenorphine treatment for opioid dependence. Induction is the initial process by which a patient transitions from abusing an opioid to buprenorphine […]