Industry news

Pricing pressure: Doubling down on the political drama

John Carroll / FierceBiotech

With all the brouhaha over Martin Shkreli's 5000%-plus price hike on an obscure treatment, it's important to remember what got us started on this journey on drug pricing and where we're left now that Shkreli has much bigger fish to fry with his attorneys.

Globalization: Another year closer to a worldwide network

John Carroll / FierceBiotech

When AstraZeneca ($AZN) recently announced its move to create its third R&D hub in China, the pharma giant was following in the paths of some major rivals. It also represented another step to a more integrated biopharma world, creating a breeding ground for new company creation that stretches around the globe.

What's the calendar bringing biopharma next year? Our top 5 ideas

Tracy Staton / Fierce Pharma

Winter days are short and dark. December is winding down. If you're not already on a holiday break, you likely will be soon. So, it's a good time to take a minute to think about what's ahead in the new year.

The top biopharma trends for 2016

John Carroll / FierceBiotech

Look back on 2015 and you'll see an industry that has come into its own. With billions of dollars flowing in from IPOs, follow-ons, venture investors, the rich (those high-net-worth individuals) and pharma deals, there's never been a better time to start a new biotech company focused on making a leap in medicine. Provided, of course, that you're working with technology from a top institution and have some top VCs sending you Christmas cards.

VCs: Venture funding grows, with more money for startups

John Carroll / FierceBiotech

That IPO boom was just what the VC doctor ordered. Between high-priced buyout deals and new offerings, the venture funds got the exits they needed to look good to investors and bring in fresh funds. This week we saw OrbiMed, a global player, close its $950 million fund, following Sofinnova Partners' $324 million play in Paris. And it's no surprise that they blth unveiled record sums, which we've been seeing for the past two years.

Robotic surgery attracts new entrants in minimally invasive surgery quest

Varun Saxena / FierceMedicalDevices

The trend toward robotic surgery will accelerate thanks to a plethora of aspirants who aim to advance their device through R&D or achieve commercialization in the upcoming year. Robotic surgery is the latest means toward a long-standing end: less invasive surgery.

Big data dominates as deep learning, AI seal the deal

Stacy Lawrence / Fierce Medical Devices

Deep learning. Artificial intelligence. Machine learning. Cognitive computing. There are so many ways to say that your computer is smarter than you. But it's just taking a little time for it to figure that out. As wearables, apps, devices, genomic testing and imaging tech proliferate, all that data doesn't just sort through itself. A variety of computer-enhanced analytics are starting to emerge to make sense of all that Big Data. And while mostly humans are sorting through and making the analytical rules for now, soon that will no longer be the case.

The Gene-Editing Tool on Every Drugmaker's Wish List This Year

Caroline Chen, Doni Bloomfield / BloombergBusiness

In a single year, Rodger Novak’s gene-editing startup raised $89 million in venture funding, got $105 million to enter a partnership with big drugmaker Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. -- and, this week, announced a deal with Bayer AG worth $335 million.

India adds more cancer, HIV/AIDS drugs to essential medicines list

Zeba Siddiqui / Reuters

India has revised its list of essential medicines to add drugs for diseases ranging from cancer and HIV/AIDS to hepatitis C, in a move aimed at making them more affordable.

Did Health Lions Inspire Better Healthcare Marketing?

Alexandra Bruell / AdvertisingAge

At last year's first Health Lions awards, there was no Grand Prix for the pharma category, and U.S. agencies trailed their international counterparts in wins. FCB Health CCO Rich Levy blamed it on the regulatory hurdles faced by health advertising.