Article Listing
Orexigen Therapeutics in $1 billion-plus deal with Japan’s Takeda for obesity drug Contrave in North America
3 September 2010
San Diego, USA-based Orexigen Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OREX) has entered into an agreement with Japan’s largest drugmaker, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TSE: 4502), for an exclusive partnership to develop and commercialize Contrave (naltrexone SR/bupropion SR), Orexigen's investigational drug for the treatment of obesity, in North America. News of the mega deal saw Orexigen’s share price rocket as much as 23% to $5.65, tough closing the day just 18% higher at $5.43.
Turkish cancer patients unable to access new drugs on time as regulatory process lengthens, warns trade group
3 September 2010
The human and financial cost from cancer is rising by the day in Turkey where 155,000 people get the disease, 60,000 of them fatally, every year. Difficulties mark bringing medicines to Turkish patients on time to treat cancer, an area of medicine where new discoveries are made and novel medicines developed incessantly, reports the local research-based pharma industry association the AiFD.
Santhera licenses rights to PD drug candidate fipamezole to France’s Ipsen for more than 140 million euros
3 September 2010
Swiss firm Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX: SANN) revealed this morning that it has granted France’s Ipsen (Euronext: IPN) a license to develop and commercialize fipamezole (antagonist of the adrenergic alpha-2 receptor) for territories outside of North America and Japan.
Concordia Pharma grants Japan’s Ono Pharma rights to salirasib cancer drug
3 September 2010
Florida, USA-based Concordia Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held biotech company, has granted Japanese drugmaker Ono Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4528) exclusive rights to develop and market its salirasib, a first-in-class, targeted agent for the treatment of pancreatic, non-small cell lung and colorectal cancers, in Japan.
Novartis/NIH-sponsored research yields promising malaria drug candidate
3 September 2010
A chemical that rid mice of malaria-causing parasites after a single oral dose may eventually become a new malaria drug if further tests in animals and people uphold the promise of early findings. The compound, NITD609, was developed by an international team of researchers including Elizabeth Winzeler, a grantee of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the USA’s National Institutes of Health and Swiss drug major Novartis (NOVN.VX).
EC backs Merck & Co’s Sycrest for the treatment of manic episodes in bipolar I disorder
3 September 2010
The European Commission has approved the Marketing Authorization Application for US drug giant Merck & Co’s (NYSE: MRK) Sycrest (asenapine) sublingual tablets for the treatment of moderate-to-severe manic episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults. Today’s decision was based on recommendations from the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP; The Pharma Letter June 28). The Commission decision applies to all 27 European Union member states. The indication was cleared in the USA last year.
Argentina pharmaceuticals market forecast to grow to $5.37 billion by 2014
3 September 2010
The value of Argentina's pharmaceutical market is calculated to have reached 12.64 billion Argentinean pesos ($3.37 billion) in 2009, according to a new report from Business Monitor International. Through to 2014, BMI forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.36% and 9.78% in local currency and US dollar terms, with the market value topping 24.72 billion pesos ($5.37 billion).
Seattle Genetics gets milestone as Astellas unit moves cancer drug into Ph I
3 September 2010
US biotechnology firm Seattle Genetics (Nasdaq: SGEN) has achieved a milestone under its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) collaboration with Agensys, which was acquired by Japan’s Astellas Pharma in 2007 for a consideration of $537 million. The milestone was triggered by Agensys’ initiation of a Phase I trial for AGS-16M8F, an ADC for the treatment of cancer utilizing Seattle Genetics’ technology.
Laboratoires Thea acquires Mydriasert ophthalmic insert from Carl Zeiss Meditec
3 September 2010
Clermont-Ferrand, France-based Laboratoires Thea, a leading independent ophthalmic group in Europe, says it has completed its innovative product range with the acquisition of Mydriasert, the first mydriatic ophthalmic insert, from Carl Zeiss Meditec. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Lung cancer survival rates improved through use of individualized chemotherapy
3 September 2010
Chemotherapy is the best broad defense against cancer recurrence after surgical resection. However, it is difficult to predict which patients will benefit from which regimen of anticancer drugs, if at all. Building on existing knowledge, a study published in the September edition of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO), analyzed the usefulness of adjuvant chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) based on the histoculture drug response assay (HDRA).
- Pfizer acts to stop Mylan marketing generic Chantix; Allergan in $600 million settlement over Botox marketing practices
- PDL BioPharma sues Roche’s Genentech over royalties
- Novartis/NIH-sponsored research yields promising malaria drug candidate
- Indian’s Ranbaxy inaugurates new $30 million drug manufacturing facility in South Africa
- Seattle Genetics gets milestone as Astellas unit moves cancer drug into Ph I
