Recruitment - Today Stories

The Government will announce further details for how they will support pharmaceutical companies’ investments in the development of drugs that will treat AMR infections. The NHS will test a first-of-its-kind ‘subscription-style’ payment model that will help incentivise companies to develop new drugs needed to tackle resistant infections. The ABPI welcomes further detail on the Government’s approach. Dr Sheuli Porkess, Executive Director of Research, Medical and Innovation at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), said:“Increased resistance to antibiotics is one of the greatest threats to global health we face. “Today’s announcement is an example of how the UK can lead the world in this fight and hopefully brings us closer to fixing the problems that have hampered inv…

A prestigious competition that has helped innovators raise millions of pounds to take their concepts to the global marketplace is looking for 2019’s most life-changing creations. The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Emerging Technologies Competition has helped winners raise more than £32million in funding since it was launched in 2013. Backed by some of the world’s biggest companies, such as Unilever, Croda, Johnson Matthey, RSSL and Pfizer, entries are now open until 5 July for the next big success story whose mastery of the chemical sciences helped create a product that can deliver a real-world benefit for wider society. Aurora Antemir, a senior manager in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Industry team said: “In less than a decade, the Emerging Technologies Competition has gone from being an…

London, UK – 23 April 2019: Ergomed plc, (LSE: ERGO) ('Ergomed' or the 'Company'), a company focused on providing specialised services to the pharmaceutical industry, today announces that PrimeVigilance, its pharmacovigilance, regulatory and medical information service provider, has been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for the second time reinforcing Ergomed’s broad leadership position as a provider of contract services. Now in its 53rd year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the country. Ergomed’s PrimeVigilance has received the 2019 Queen’s Award for International Trade in recognition of its year-on-year outstanding services in the drug safety sector for its global customer base. As an International Trade winner, PrimeVigilance has dem…

Berkshire based PharmiWeb are excited to have launched a new version of of PharmiWeb.com - The new site, focusing on News, Events and Articles from the Pharma sector, brings together a wide range of content from multiple sources, to make the site an even better resource for the Pharma Industry.  Pharma Jobs  The hugely popular Job Board has moved to a new URL - PharmiWeb.Jobs. This means that for individuals looking for a the latest jobs in the pharma industry, PharmiWeb's new job board will the only place they need to go!  According to Portal Business Manager, Mike Wood - "This is the start of a very exciting growth stage for PharmiWeb, and we have a wide ranging plan of developments for the portal which will reinforce our position as one of the primary sources of global Pharma news. Our…

CeloNova BioSciences, Inc. (CeloNova), a global medical device company that offers a family of innovative products based upon its proprietary Polyzene™-F nanocoating technology, today announced that it has signed a three-year group purchasing agreement with HealthTrust for its novel COBRA PzF™ NanoCoated Coronary Stent (NCS) System. The agreement (contract number: 39949), which became effective on February 1, 2019, provides HealthTrust's more than 1,500 member hospitals and health systems with access to the world's first non drug-eluting, nanocoated coronary stent designed to help physicians safely and effectively treat patients who may benefit from short, 1-month minimum dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT).1 DAPT has been shown to increase bleeding and mortality risks, which is of greater c…

*         ICARIA (Isatuximab in Combination with pomalidomide And low-dose dexamethasone veRsus pomalidomide and low dose dexamethasone in patients with refractory or relapsed And refractory Multiple Myeloma), study evaluated the benefit of isatuximab in combination with standard of care in prolonging progression free survival as compared to standard of care in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma *         Multiple myeloma is the second most common haematological cancer1 *         First randomised Phase 3 trial to evaluate the benefit of adding a monoclonal antibody to pomalidomide and dexamethasone for treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma I…

Merck, a leading science and technology company, and GSK, a science-led global healthcare company, today announced that the companies have entered into a global strategic alliance to jointly develop and commercialize M7824 (bintrafusp alfa*). M7824 is an investigational bifunctional fusion protein immunotherapy that is currently in clinical development, including potential registration studies, for multiple difficult-to-treat cancers. This includes a Phase II trial to investigate M7824 compared with pembrolizumab as a first-line treatment in patients with PD-L1 expressing advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).   M7824 is designed to simultaneously target two immuno-suppressive pathways, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) trap and an anti-programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1…

Torque, an immuno-oncology company developing first-in-class Deep Primed™ T Cell Therapeutics to direct immune power deep within the tumor microenvironment, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), today announced a collaboration to build a dedicated Slipstream™ manufacturing facility for high-efficiency production of Torque's Deep-Primed T cell immunotherapies. Buildout of the Torque/Thermo Fisher manufacturing facility has begun, and the companies anticipate processing patient cells by the end of 2019. The Slipstream platform will initially be used in the clinical development of Torque's lead Deep-Primed T cell candidate, TRQ-1501, in solid and hematologic tumors; followed by TRQ-1201, also for solid and hematologic tumors. "Torque's cell manufacturing technology platform is crit…

Neuraxpharm Group, a leading European specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of central nervous system disorders (CNS), announces the acquisition of Farmax, a CNS specialty pharmaceutical company, from SVUS Pharma.   Farmax, located in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, was the commercial division of SVUS Pharma, and has a strong distribution presence in the Czech Republic, Slovakia as well as a small presence in Hungary. Farmax is a leader in sales and marketing both branded and non-branded generics pharmaceuticals for CNS disorders such as Zolpinox®. It also commercializes well-known OTC nutraceuticals such as Preventan® and Maxicor®. Farmax has been renamed Neuraxpharm Bohemia and will commercialize its products under the Neuraxpharm brand. Leveraging its proprie…

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson today announced a worldwide collaboration and license agreement with MeiraGTx Holdings plc (NASDAQ: MGTX), a clinical-stage gene therapy company, to develop, manufacture and commercialize its clinical stage inherited retinal disease portfolio, including leading product candidates for achromatopsia (ACHM) caused by mutations in either CNGB3 or CNGA3, and X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP). Further, the companies have formed a research collaboration to explore new targets for other inherited retinal diseases and further develop adeno-associated virus (AAV) manufacturing technology. "Janssen is excited to expand our portfolio with the addition of innovative assets that have the potential to improve sight or prevent the progressi…

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences today announced its acquisition of Labcyte, a privately held, acoustic liquid handling company based in San Jose, California. Labcyte is best known for its Echo® acoustic droplet ejection technology, which uses sound waves to transfer tiny amounts of liquid with unequalled speed and accuracy. This technology—the centerpiece of Labcyte's Echo Liquid Handlers—enables walkaway convenience and integration capabilities. Labcyte technology enables faster and more cost-effective laboratory workflows in applications such as drug discovery and genomics. "Labcyte's unique product portfolio complements our existing liquid handling and laboratory automation business. It provides new opportunities to develop and enhance time-saving solutions for customer workflows," said J…

UPMC Health Plan and AstraZeneca today announced the initiation of a pioneering value-based contract effective Jan.1, 2019 for UPMC for Life Medicare members who are prescribed BRILINTA® (ticagrelor), a medication used to lower a patient's chances of having another heart attack or dying from one in the 12 months following a heart attack. The goal of the contract is to align the incentives of the manufacturer, AstraZeneca, with UPMC Health Plan by connecting reimbursement for BRILINTA® to clinical outcomes in a real-world population. Specifically, reimbursement for the medication will be linked to cardiovascular outcomes for people treated with BRILINTA® following a recent hospitalization for heart attack or unstable angina. This value-based contract is groundbreaking in two way…

Purdue Pharma L.P. (“Purdue”) and Alivio Therapeutics today announced that they have entered into a partnership to advance one of Alivio’s product candidates through clinical development with an option exercisable by Purdue to collaborate on a limited number of additional compounds utilising Alivio’s inflammation-targeting technology. ALV-107 is a non-opioid treatment being developed for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS).   Alivio will receive up to $14.75 million in upfront and near-term license exercise payments and is eligible to receive royalties on product sales and over $260 million in research and development milestones. Purdue also has an option to invest in Alivio’s next equity financing.   “This collaboration with Alivio is an important milestone…

United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR) today announced the closing of the transactions contemplated by its license agreement with Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARNA). Under the agreement, United Therapeutics acquired exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and manufacture the Phase 3 investigational drug candidate ralinepag, a next-generation, oral, selective and potent prostacyclin receptor agonist in development for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).  Upon closing, United Therapeutics paid Arena $800 million. Arena is also entitled to potential milestone payments of up to $400 million based on the achievement of certain regulatory events as well as low double-digit tiered royalties on annual net sales of ralinepag products.   &n…

Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and Allergan plc. (NYSE: AGN) today announced positive top-line results from a Phase 1/ Phase 3 study evaluating the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of biosimilar candidate ABP 798, a biosimilar candidate to RITUXAN® (rituximab), compared to rituximab in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis. The results demonstrate that the study met its primary endpoint of pharmacokinetic (PK) similarity. Additionally, equivalent efficacy was established and a similar safety profile was demonstrated. The primary objective of the study was PK similarity comparing ABP 798 to rituximab. The PK endpoints of the study were area under the serum concentration–time curve (AUC) and maximum serum concentration (Cmax), both of which were within the pre-specified equi…

B-MoGen Biotechnologies, Inc. and CytoSen Therapeutics announced today a research collaboration to develop the next generation of gene-modified Natural Killer Cell (NK) therapies.  B-MoGen will utilize its expertise in genetic design and its patented non-viral gene delivery platform in conjunction with CytoSen's nanoparticle expansion platform to improve efficacy and reduce cost of NK cell therapeutics.  "We are very excited and look forward to teaming up with CytoSen to utilize our scientific expertise and engineering work with CARs and TCRs to help develop NK treatments in the human therapeutics space," said Jeff Liter, President and CEO of B-MoGen.  "CytoSen's innovation, science and pioneering technology is a perfect fit with B-MoGen's genome engineering experience and…

LunaPBC, founder of LunaDNA, the first community-owned genomic and health data platform, announced today its partnership with Genetic Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to providing ordinary people with powerful tools to transform research. Over the course of 2019, the organizations will merge Genetic Alliance's Platform for Engaging Everyone Responsibly engagement platform with LunaDNA to provide individuals and communities with more resources to support health management while maximizing research opportunities. The partnership enables LunaPBC and Genetic Alliance to unite their shared mission and technologies to create seamless solutions to support individuals, disease foundations, and patient advocacy organizations while also powering disease research at scale. Shared values across…

Medline, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical and laboratory products with patient-centered solutions, services and expertise across the continuum of care, today announced it has been awarded a group purchasing agreement for laboratory distribution services with Intalere, effective January 1, 2019 for two years.  Intalere members already have access to competitive pricing through Medline as their primary medical distributor through a 4-year agreement renewed in February 2018.  This new laboratory contract complements what is in place by extending this negotiated pricing to Intalere members that also select Medline to be their primary laboratory distributor.  With more than 40 distribution centers strategically located across the country, Medline offers Intalere…

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved pharma giants Sanofi and Merck's Vaxelis, a new pediatric vaccine against six diseases. The vaccine will help to bolster vaccination rates across the US by reducing the shot burden on infants and children, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.  Vaxelis, which is indicated for active immunization to prevent diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B and invasive disease due to Haemophilus influenzae type b, was developed as part of a joint-partnership between Sanofi and Merck, known as MSD outside the US and Canada. James Mather, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Vaxelis’ approval in the US is a major regulatory breakthrough, as the FDA has been more hesitant than the European Medi…

Luye Pharma has announced it has entered an agreement with AstraZeneca China, the terms of which grant AstraZeneca China exclusive rights to promote Luye Pharma's Xuezhikang Capsules in mainland China. This is the first time that a multinational pharmaceutical company has gained exclusive authorization in China to promote an innovative drug independently developed by a Chinese pharmaceutical company. According to the agreement, AstraZeneca will be responsible for the exclusive promotion of Xuezhikang Capsules in mainland China, while Luye Pharma will retain asset rights, commercial sales rights, the registration permit, all intellectual property rights and other product-related rights aside from product promotion. As a widely acknowledged product both at home and abroad, Xuezhikang is th…