pharma news

Dec 24, 2020

NIH awards USD 107 Million for radical COVID-19 testing tech  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded over USD 107 million for radical approaches to testing for COVID-19 and tracing the spread of the disease, including cutting-edge technologies, which could make daily coronavirus testing less interf...

Dec 10, 2020

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine data suggest single-dose efficacy The full data from late-phase trials of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine have pointed to the potential for AZD1222 to work after a single dose and limit asymptomatic cases; however, missed main questions regarding the efficacy of the candidate. Th...

Dec 03, 2020

Roche receives FDA authorization for the quantitative COVID-19 antibody test Roche has got an authorization from the FDA for a more accurate COVID-19 blood test capable of measuring the levels of specific antibodies, which target the cell-unlocking spike protein of coronavirus. The company anticipates the tes...

Nov 26, 2020

Cancer-killing virus flees immune destruction and attacks metastatic lung tumors in mice Several viruses have a natural ability to eliminate cancer; however translating them into treatments has proven difficult, partly due to the immune system tends to kill them before they can reach cancer cells. Researchers fr...

Nov 24, 2020

Novartis bags Mesoblast's cell therapy, Remestemcel-L for COVID-19 ARDS The COVID-19 pandemic has put tremendous pressure on scientists to develop a safe and effective vaccine as early as possible. According to the WHO, there are currently more than 100 COVID-19 vaccine candidates under development, with several...

Nov 05, 2020

FDA nods Boston Scientific's paclitaxel-coated Ranger balloon for peripheral artery disease Boston Scientific has received the FDA approval for its Ranger paclitaxel-coated balloon, designed to restrict a patient's systemic exposure to the chemotherapy used to reduce the closure of reopened arteries. The slim...

Nov 04, 2020

Bristol Myers' Experimental Psoriasis drug succeeds in late-stage study defeats rival Amgen's Otezla Bristol Myers' experimental psoriasis drug, deucravacitinib has outmarched Amgen's Otezla (apremilast) in the POETYK PSO-1 Phase III clinical trial in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Deucravaci...

Oct 29, 2020

Novartis taps Molecular Partners for a novel approach to combat COVID-19 Novartis is spending USD 69 million upfront on a pair of experimental drugs from Molecular Partners. The pact is for MP0420 and MP0423, two antivirals out of the biotech’s so-called DARPin tech, which Molecular Partners says that it has ...

Oct 27, 2020

Bayer Set to Fork Over USD 4 Billion for AskBio’s Gene Therapies Germany-based Bayer is set to acquire North Carolina-based Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio) with motives to get its hands on its gene therapies.  Bayer will pay USD 2 billion in upfront payment in exchange for AskBio's AAV-based gene th...

Oct 22, 2020

GSK eyes robust immune response from RSV vaccine  Cold viruses mostly do not get much attention in terms of R&D. They usually make humans feel miserable for a few days, and later than clear up. However, some cold viruses can hit vulnerable people much harder, which leads to pneumonia and hospitalizations. Th...