Pharmaco - Today Stories

• Collaboration focuses on up to three types of lung and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers • Latest in a series of strategic acquisitions and partnerships that strengthens Boehringer Ingelheim’s position in the cancer vaccine and T-cell engager spaces • Agreement and partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim provides additional validation of Enara Bio’s EDAPT™ platform and Dark Antigen™ discovery work and supports ongoing cell therapy based therapeutic approach Ingelheim, Germany and Oxford and London, UK, January 12th, 2021 – Boehringer Ingelheim and Enara Bio, today announced that they have entered into a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement to research and develop novel targeted cancer immunotherapies, leveraging Enara Bio’s Dark Antigen™ discovery platform. This new collaboration…

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency supply in the UK, with the first doses being released today so that vaccinations may begin early in the New Year. The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has provided authorisation for emergency supply of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, formerly AZD1222, for the active immunisation of individuals 18 years or older. The authorisation recommends  two doses administered with an interval of between four and 12 weeks. This regimen was shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations more than 14 days after the second dose. AstraZeneca is working with Public Health England and National Health Service England to support the deploy…

COMIRNATY® (also known as BNT162b2) receives conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission; this milestone represents a global joint effort to advance the first authorized mRNA vaccine Pfizer and BioNTech are ready to immediately ship initial doses to the 27 EU member states Pfizer and BioNTech previously announced an agreement with the European Commission to supply 200 million vaccine doses to EU member states; the EU also has an option to purchase an additional 100 million doses in 2021 The vaccine has now been granted a conditional marketing authorization, emergency use authorization, or temporary authorization in more than 40 countries worldwide, including all 27 EU member states NEW YORK & MAINZ, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech…

AstraZeneca and Amgen today announced high-level results from the SOURCE Phase III trial which assessed the efficacy and safety of the potential new medicine tezepelumab compared to placebo in 150 severe asthma patients who required maintenance use of oral corticosteroids (OCS) on top of standard of care (SoC). The 48-week trial did not meet the primary endpoint of a statistically significant reduction in the daily OCS dose, without loss of asthma control, with tezepelumab compared to placebo. Tezepelumab’s effect on other efficacy parameters was similar to those observed in previous trials, including the registrational Phase III NAVIGATOR trial. Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, said: “Based on the totality of evidence, including the compelling exacerbat…

A new five-year US$ 25 million (US$ 5 million/year) financial support to prevent and treat Neglected Tropical Diseases Strong Company commitment to meet the goals of the new WHO NTDs Roadmap and sustainably eliminate sleeping sickness before 2030 20-year partnership outstanding legacy with a decrease of 97% in sleeping sickness cases worldwide PARIS - December 15, 2020 - Sanofi has signed on December 10th a renewed partnership agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO), consolidating a 20-year collaboration to fight some of the most Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and supporting the WHO in its commitment to sustainably eliminate sleeping sickness before 2030.   With this new 5-year commitment, Sanofi will provide a consistent financial support with US$ 25 million (US$ 5 milli…

A revolutionary new way for pharma companies, and other businesses, to tap into the pockets of excellence in NHS staff delivery launches today. Just eight months after BOB.health was made available to NHS staff, sponsored impact stories are now published.  These ‘impact stories’, told by NHS staff members, are practical accounts of how to introduce medicine into a local system or how to redesign a pathway or service. Pharma and NHS collaboration initiatives, such as Joint Working projects, are unpacked, supporting the dissemination of the lessons learnt to NHS stakeholders in other localities. BOB.health is working with five leading pharma companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim, who have already bought into the concept of BOB. January 2021, will see the first batch of pharma sponsored s…

Comprehensive access landscape map will help entrepreneurs get digital health technologies to patients and healthcare professionals. Bracknell, UK, 30 November 2020 – A new guide for digital health innovators launched today by Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) provides a comprehensive assessment of the English health system, pooling key stakeholder insights and signposting to further information for entrepreneurs to overcome barriers to the adoption of new technologies. The new, free to download guide features contributions from Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs), experts in digital and data and successful healthcare innovators and aims to optimise innovator opportunities and help them plot a clear pathway for digital health technologies to improve services and reach patients. The Innovator’…

Pratteln, Switzerland, November 25, 2020 – Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX: SANN) announces that it has issued 937,928 treasury shares. The number of shares recorded in the commercial register has been increased to 18,983,321 shares.   On November 24, 2020, 937,928 shares were issued out of the existing authorized capital as treasury shares. Santhera expects to use these shares for purposes of its financing arrangements. The new shares will be listed as per November 25, 2020.     About Santhera Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX: SANN) is a Swiss specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines for rare neuromuscular and pulmonary diseases with high unmet medical need. Santhera has an exclusive license for all indications worldwide to vamo…

World Antibiotic Awareness Week aims to increase awareness of global antibiotic resistance and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance.A global action plan to tackle the growing problem of resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines was endorsed at the Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly in May 2015. One of the key objectives of the plan is to improve awareness and understanding of antimicrobial resistance through effective communication, education and training.

(Reuters) - Pfizer Inc PFE.N on Monday said its experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data from a large study, a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed over 1 million people, roiled the world's economy and upended daily life. Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE BNTX.O are the first drugmakers to show successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. The companies said they have so far found no serious safety concerns and expect to seek U.S. emergency use authorization later this month. If authorized, the number of vaccine doses will initially be limited. Many questions also remain including how long the vaccine will provide protection. However the news provides hope that other vaccines in…

Forxiga is the first SGLT2 inhibitor approved in the EU for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in adult patients with and without type-2 diabetes AstraZeneca’s Forxiga (dapagliflozin) has been approved in the European Union (EU) for the treatment of symptomatic chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) in adults with and without type-2 diabetes (T2D). Heart failure (HF) is a life-threatening chronic disease that prevents the heart from pumping sufficient levels of blood around the body. It affects 15 million people in the EU, at least half of whom have a reduced ejection fraction,1-3 which occurs when the left ventricle muscle is not able to contract adequately and therefore expels less oxygen-rich blood into the body.4-6 The approval by the European Commissio…

Increasing scientific evidence[1] demonstrates that climate change and nature loss are impacting the world and human health in many ways, including: extreme heat contributing to deaths from diseases; increased spread of infectious diseases and air pollution exacerbating respiratory diseases. Today, GSK has announced ambitious new environmental sustainability goals in both climate and nature, aiming to have a net zero impact on climate and a net positive impact on nature by 2030. The new goals form part of GSK’s Trust priority and ESG approach, which support the company’s aim to create long-term value for shareholders and meet the needs of society. Over the next decade, GSK will invest in measures to reduce its environmental impact, in restoration programmes to balance the remaining impact…

Gilead Sciences and the European Commission today signed a joint procurement agreement (JPA) that will enable rapid and equitable access to Veklury (remdesivir), the first antiviral licensed for the treatment of COVID-19 in the European Union (EU) and the UK. The JPA enables 37 participating countries in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) and the UK to purchase Veklury to address increasing demand and to start to address stockpiling needs, coordinated by the European Commission. The agreement covers purchases of Veklury over the next six months and has the option to be extended. The JPA replaces an Emergency Support Instrument (ESI) that enabled the European Commission to procure Veklury for EU Member States and the UK, from August through October 2020. In the UK, Veklury is indic…

Kancera AB (Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market: KAN) announces that screening of covid-19 patients for the clinical phase II study of KAND567 starts today. The study, which is carried out in collaboration with Capio St. Göran's Hospital and Petter Brodin's research group at SciLifeLab, aims to study the effect of KAND567 on the immune system, lung function and rehabilitation. Results from the study will be analyzed and communicated on two occasions, the first after all patients have undergone sampling after day 7, and the second after day 90. Kancera develops drugs that counteract damage in acute and chronic inflammation. The Fractalkine blocker KAND567 is primarily developed to effectively counteract hyper-inflammation in various disease states and thereby protect vital organs, e.g.…

The Chief Executive of the UK’s pharmaceutical industry association has today warned MPs about the consequences of not agreeing a comprehensive post-Brexit trade deal or an urgent agreement on medicines while the trade talks continue. Richard Torbett told the Commons EU Future Relationship Committee that negotiators must consider the impact of causing unnecessary disruption and delays for UK and EU medicines whilst in the midst of a global pandemic. The Committee heard that companies were working in a constant state of emergency with supply chains under incredible pressure from COVID-19: "We need the bare minimum in order to safeguard risk to the supply chain [for medicines]. If we don’t get this there will be increased complexity, duplication and cost – the last thing we need during COVI…

*Principia Biopharma Inc. is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Sanofi PARIS – September 28, 2020 – Sanofi announced today the successful completion of its acquisition of Principia Biopharma Inc. (“Principia”) for $100 per share in cash. “The Principia acquisition further strengthens our core areas of autoimmune and allergic diseases, giving us full control of tolebrutinib (SAR442168), as well as additional BTK inhibitors to further develop,” said Paul Hudson, Sanofi Chief Executive Officer. “The Principia integration into Sanofi augments our small molecule research capabilities as we look to maintain leadership in the discovery and development of oral medicines for serious illnesses.” The tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Principia common stock expired as scheduled at one mi…

After months of waiting, the official NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app for England and Wales is now available.   Protect your loved ones with the official NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app for England and Wales. It's the fastest way of knowing when you're at risk from coronavirus (COVID-19). The quicker you know, the quicker you can alert your loved ones, and your community.  The more of us that use it, the better we can control coronavirus. Protect your loved ones. Please download the app.

Inflazome is a pioneering inflammasome company developing orally available NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors to address clinical unmet needs across a wide variety of inflammatory diseases   Acquisition of Inflazome gives Roche full rights to the Inflazome portfolio   Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the body is implicated in many diseases caused by chronic, uncontrolled inflammation   Inflazome shareholders received €380 million upfront, and are eligible to receive additional milestone payments   Dublin (IE), Cambridge (UK), 21 September 2020: Inflazome announced today that it has closed a share purchase agreement with Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) in which Inflazome’s shareholders received an upfront payment of €380 million, and are eligible to receive additional conting…

Responding to the news that the Covid-19 vaccine trial being run by Oxford University in conjunction with AstraZeneca has been halted for a second time, Kate Shaw, CEO of Innovative Trials, a clinical trials patient recruitment company, hoped it would not deter people from participating in clinical trials, either now or in the future. Shaw said: “I wish the clinical trial participant in question a swift recovery, but it’s important to note that a temporary halt on research is not uncommon and does not automatically mean a medicine is unsafe. Many treatments and vaccines can experience a pause during their development, even ones that are ultimately successful and brought to market.  “This news highlights the need for greater public awareness of what clinical research involves in order to av…