Industry news

European drug regulation: Past, present and future

Cormac Sheridan / BioWorld

Better patient safety has been the single greatest benefit of Europe’s system of pharmaceuticals regulation and legislation over the past 50 years, according to an audience vote at a Regulatory Town Hall meeting, which kicked off proceedings at the Drug Information Association’s (DIA) 27th annual European meeting at Le Palais des Congrès in Paris, Monday.

Biotech guru Neil Woodford lands $1.2B for new tech fund

John Carroll / FierceBiotech

U.K. investment guru Neil Woodford has landed his $1.2 billion tech fund, making it a record debut for an investment trust in the country.

Biopharma firms ride Hong Kong and Shanghai bull markets

Cornelia Zou / BioWorld

China-focused biopharmaceutical stocks have not been left out of the bull markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai, which are being powered by an influx of capital and strong company performances. The Hong Kong market in particular has been pushed up over the last week as the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect Scheme, launched in November 2014, facilitated an influx of capital from Mainland China into the market. 

Careful, European drugmakers. Fitch says M&A may be a bit too heated

Tracy Staton / Fierce Pharma

Fitch Ratings is raising the flag on pharma M&A. The credit ratings agency says the current spate of dealmaking is putting some pressure on European Big Pharma players.

20 April 2015

Range of ‘uninterrupted vision’ possible with inlay

Michelle Dalton / Ophthalmology Times

Study patients with a near vision inlay implanted under a femtosecond flap achieved extended depth of focus that ranged from +1 to +3 D, said John A. Hovanesian, MD. The implant (Raindrop Near Vision Inlay, ReVision Optics) is designed to change the curvature of the overlying cornea creating a gradient of power that allows a full range of uninterrupted vision.

Biotech venture investing continues to sizzle in a big, $1.7B Q1

John Carroll / FierceBiotech

With crossover investors still crowding into the biotech field to help launch a wave of new IPOs, the industry recorded $1.7 billion in new venture funds in the first quarter, according to The MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based on data from Thomson Reuters.

Q1 med tech venture dips to lowest since 2013--but med tech IPOs outpace biotech

Stacy Lawrence / Fierce Medical Devices

It's not unusual for first-quarter venture financing to take a bit of a breather. But for med tech, this time seems like a pretty profound pause. The venture capital invested in med tech startups dipped below $500 million during the first quarter--for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based on data provided by Thomson Reuters.

Analyst: Vivus generic threats a positive for obesity market

Carly Helfand / FiercePharma

No drugmaker wants a generic challenger for a product it relies on--and certainly not two generics challengers. But in the case of Vivus ($VVUS), which has sued Actavis ($ACT) and now Teva ($TEVA) over patent infringement for weight-loss drug Qsymia, the generic interest could be an "incremental positive," one analyst believes.

Big orphan ante: MIT professor refines megafund idea to lure investors

Randy Osborne / BioWorld

The prospect of establishing a specially focused orphan drug megafund, through which investors put money down and collect on the spoils as drugs and intellectual property rights are sold to venture capitalists or pharma firms, is one due to be explored during a panel talk at the Allicense 2015 conference by Andrew Lo, Sloan professor of finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Record new drug sales give a mega-boost to U.S. drug spending

Tracy Staton / Fierce Pharma

Given the flood of numbers on hepatitis C treatment costs, it's no surprise that U.S. drug spending took a leap last year. Given the news on specialty drug prices, it's also no surprise that the biggest share of that growth came in that category of medications.