Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority accused Merck‘s (NYSE:MRK) European unit, Merck Sharp & Dohme, of conducting an unfair discount scheme that it said was designed to restrict competition from biosimilar copies of the company’s drug, Remicade. Remicade is an antibody drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis and Chron’s disease. It was the 1st […]
Merck
OncoSec inks deal with Merck to study drug-device therapy for metastatic melanoma
OncoSec Medical (NSDQ:ONCS) said today that it inked a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Merck (NYSE:MRK) to evaluate the combination of its ImmunoPulse IL-12 electroporation device with Merck’s Keytruda therapy in a Phase II clinical trial. The trial aims to evaluate the drug-device combination in patients with metastatic melanoma – specifically patients who experienced disease […]
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 […]
Fresenius acquires generics drugmaker Akorn, Merck’s biosimilars biz
German healthcare company Fresenius (ETR:FRE) said today that it bought U.S. generic drugmaker Akorn Inc. (NSDQ:AKRX) for $4.75 billion and Merck KGaA’s biosimilars business. Since chief executive Stephan Sturm took the helm in June, the company has made takeovers a key part of its strategy. Fresenius bought a Spanish hospital chain for 5.8 billion euros […]
Sanofi levels antitrust suit against Mylan over EpiPen device
Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) reportedly sued Mylan (NSDQ:MYL) today, accusing the company of illegally suppressing competition to the EpiPen device. The lawsuit filed in a New Jersey federal court alleges that Mylan’s conduct has cost Sanofi hundreds of millions of dollars in sales for its rival allergy treatment, Auvi-Q. Canonsburg, Penn.-based Mylan has found itself at the center of […]
Merck, Avillion ink development deal for nanobody psoriasis treatment
Merck KGaA and Avillion inked a clinical co-development deal today for Merck’s anti IL-17 A/F Nanobody therapy for plaque psoriasis. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The investigational treatment underwent Phase I development and the group plans to initiate Phase II trials this year. According to the terms of the agreement, Avillion […]
Trump FDA pick to recuse himself from agency decisions involving 20 companies
Donald Trump’s nominee to head the FDA, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, reportedly told ethics officials at the Office of Government Ethics he plans to recuse himself for 1 year from agency decisions on more than 20 companies, including GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY). Gottlieb has received millions of dollars for his roles as advisor, paid speaker […]
Sanofi gains on Q4 results; a look at some of the top drug-delivery earners in 2016
Shares in Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) have gained 11% to $44.58 apiece since the company released its 4th-quarter and full year 2016 financial results in February. The French company posted profits of $731.5 million on sales of $8.21 billion for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, for bottom-line growth of 136.5% on sales growth of 3.3% compared with […]
Pharma stocks fall on Trump’s proposal to cut NIH budget
The Trump budget plan to slash more than 18% from the budget for the National Institutes of Health sent pharmaceutical stocks down today on Wall Street as investors reacted to the proposal. The budget proposal, released today, would cut the NIH budget by $5.8 billion, to $25.9 billion – an 18.3% cut. The proposal would also introduce […]
Trump drug pricing tweet sends pharma stocks down
Shares in Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) fell slightly this morning after President Donald Trump tweeted that he was working on a “new system” to lower drug prices. “I am working on a new system where there will be competition in the Drug Industry,” he wrote. “Pricing for the American people will come way down!” […]