Industry news

India drug industry says US-led trade deal will raise prices

Zeba Siddiqui / Reuters

Leaders of India's $15 billion pharmaceuticals industry, a major supplier of affordable generics to the world, have joined public health activists in criticising a new U.S.-led trade deal they say will delay the arrival of new cheap drugs.

Cancer medicines pipeline offers hope of better treatments

Peter Winter / BioWorld

This year in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), an estimated 1.65 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed and almost 600,000 people will succumb to the disease. In addition, the economic burden for cancer care in the U.S. runs on the order of $130 billion – a staggering amount that continues to rise annually.

Superbug infections drop in China with new controls on antibiotics

Matthew Driskill / FiercePharmaAsia

The overuse of antibiotics is one of the greatest threats facing the pharmaceutical, farming and medical industries. Overuse or abuse of the drugs has led to increasing resistance and given rise to "superbugs" that threaten patients and the world's food supply.

Biotech leaders pushing for patient-driven innovation during DIA conference

Shannon Ellis / BioWorld

Since July, innovation has been on a remarkable roll in the world of new drug discovery and development in China. It started in August, with the welcome promise of sweeping regulatory reforms announced by the State Council. That was swiftly followed by two recordbreaking out-licensing deals for Chinese biotechs – Hengrui Medicine Co. Ltd. selling its PD-1 drug to Incyte Corp., and Innovent Biologics Inc.'s mega-partnership deal with Eli Lilly and Co. – both signaling to Chinese drugmakers that innovation can pay even when the market is a long way off. 

$16 Billion in Venture Capital Deployed to Startup Ecosystem in Third Quarter, According to the MoneyTree Report

U.S. National Venture Capital Assocoation

Venture capitalists invested $16.3 billion in 1,070 deals in the third quarter of 2015, according to the MoneyTree™ Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), based on data provided by Thomson Reuters. Total venture dollars deployed to startup companies for the quarter decreased 5 percent and total deal count was down 11 percent compared to the second quarter when $17.3 billion was invested in 1,202 deals. 

Biotech notches another $2B VC quarter, but can it last?

Damian Garde / Fierce Biotech

Biotech venture capital investments remain on pace for a record year after racking up another $2 billion in the third quarter, but some current shakiness in the public markets could change the outlook for early-stage drug developers looking to fill their coffers in the future.

In pharma M&A, 2015 trumps red-hot 2014 so far, report says

Carly Helfand / FiercePharma

Global activity in the pharma, medical and biotech spheres over the first three quarters of this year has hit its largest-to-date value since at least 2001, according to new data from intelligence and news service Mergermarket. Over that range, the industries have turned up 954 transactions worth $367.6 billion.

U.S. oncology group rates blood cancer regimens, including cost

Deena Beasle / Reuters

The most influential source for U.S. oncology treatment guidelines on Friday unveiled ratings aimed at helping doctors and patients assess the costs versus benefits of current therapies for two types of blood cancer.

Cancer group fuels drug price debate with data comparing cost and effectiveness

Eric Palmer / FeircePharma

Under the current model in the U.S. a cancer patient is prescribed drugs by their doctors and the financial consequences then play out over the course of the treatment. But in the midst of a growing national debate over drug prices, a coalition of cancer groups will provide patients with info ranking costs and effectiveness of different treatments so they can make decisions on what they are willing to pay for their own treatment.

Myanmar trying to move up the food chain on pharma production

Matthew Driskill / FiercePharmaAsia

Myanmar is trying to kick-start its pharmaceutical manufacturing industry to wean itself off foreign imports, according to a recent report on the Frontier Myanmar news website. The government is offering incentives to private distributors to coax them into the drugmaking game. The country's first factories are said to be nearly ready to begin producing what will "theoretically be affordable yet high-quality medication," the report said.