Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) said today that it plans to fund its acquisition of soft-gel pharmaceutical capsule manufacturer Accucaps Industries Ltd with a $400 million debt offering. The Somerset, N.J.-based company said the private placement offering of euro-dominated senior unsecured notes due in 2024 will also be used to repay some of the outstanding borrowings under its senior […]
Pharmaceuticals
Researchers develop human lung model
(Reuters) – Czech scientists have developed a model of a functioning human lung that can be used to simulate problems like asthma or other chronic diseases and their treatments. The research group from the Brno University of Technology says its mechanical- and computer-based model of the lung can help devise treatment methods with more precision […]
Allergan expands neurological portfolio with $125m Chase Pharmaceuticals buy
Allergan (NYSE:AGN) said today that it acquired Chase Pharmaceuticals for an upfront payment of $125 million, expanding the Dublin-based company’s neurological portfolio. Washington, D.C.-based Chase is developing a combination therapy of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and a cholinergic blocker in the hopes of improving cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitors available on the […]
Topical immunotherapy combo effective against early skin cancer
Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School have shown that a combination of 2 topical drugs can trigger an immune response against precancerous skin lesions. The study was published yesterday in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. The 2 drugs, calcipotriol and 5-fluorouracil, have been in use for years – topical 5-fluorouracil is […]
UPDATE: Mylan declines to testify at Senate committee hearing
Updated to include the Senate Judiciary Committee’s response. Mylan (NDSQ:MYL) declined to testify at a U.S. Senate committee regarding its $465 million pending settlement to deal with charges that it underpaid government healthcare programs when it misclassified its EpiPen injector as a generic. The Canonsburg, Pa.-based company penned a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee […]
Novo Nordisk, Sanofi win FDA nods for diabetes drugs
Both Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) and Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) said yesterday that they won FDA approval for pre-filled pens with drug combinations indicated for adults with Type II diabetes. Paris-based Sanofi’s Soliqua 100/33 is an injectable medicine composed of 2 diabetes drugs – insulin glargine and lixisenatide. The drug is approved for adults with Type II diabetes not controlled with less than […]
GSK files for FDA approval of inhaled triple-combo therapy for COPD
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) and Innoviva (NSDQ:INVA) said today that GSK filed a regulatory submission with the FDA for the once-daily, closed triple combination therapy fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The triple-combo therapy includes 3 drugs: fluticasone furoate, an inhaled corticosteroid; umeclidinium, a long-acting muscarinic antagonist; vilanterol, a long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist. The medicines […]
Intarcia seeks FDA nod for 1st drug to use Medici drug delivery system
Intarcia Therapeutics said today that it submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA for its injection-free ITCA 650 candidate, the 1st drug to use Intarcia’s Medici drug delivery system to treat Type II diabetes. The ITCA 650 enables subcutaneous delivery of exenatide using a match-sized osmotic pump placed under the skin in an in-office procedure. With […]
Restoring blood vessels to tumor cells aids delivery of chemotherapy
Researchers from the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology in Belgium say they have found a way to repair dysfunctional blood vessels which allow cancer cells to escape from the blood stream and reach other organs, and which play a vital role in cancer metastasis. In a study published in Cancer Cell, researchers describe how they manipulated the blood […]
Mallinckrodt touts data for Ofirmev injected acetaminophen
Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:MNK) today released results from a clinical pharmacokinetic study evaluating the effect of IV morphine on the absorption of oral acetaminophen, touting the effectiveness of its Ofirmev IV administered acetaminophen over orally administered acetaminophen in adjunct to IV morphine. The results were presented at this year’s Pain Medicine Meeting of the American Society of […]
