Industry news

New drug combo targets an aggressive blood cancer at lower cost

Oliver Worsley / Fierce Biotech

Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) face not only a life-threatening cancer but also the high cost of the current therapy. A team at the University of Texas has now shown a drug combo that might stop the cancer--while offering the drug at a more reasonable price tag.

A Global Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance

BioPharm International

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) met on Sept. 1–2, 2016 to discuss a worldwide regulatory response to the development of new antibiotics to fight antimicrobial resistance. The agencies agreed at the meeting, which was hosted by EMA, that regulatory activities were only one facet of the response needed to fight antimicrobial resistance worldwide.

New medicines in development for autoimmune diseases offer patients hope for brighter futures

Hannah Mooney / PhRMA

Currently, more than 23.5 million Americans are affected by one of the more than 80 autoimmune diseases identified to date. These diseases range in severity, with their own characteristics and their own struggles. Because of this, the need for innovative treatments and cures has never been greater. But today, patients with an autoimmune disease can have more hope than ever before with the tremendous progress that science offers patients and their families.

Keep the EMA in London, Japan says, warning that pharma HQs could leave post-Brexit

Phil Taylor / Fierce Pharma

Japan is warning that investments in the U.K. could be at risk with Brexit, if the negotiations drag on and are kept under wraps. And that includes pharma companies exiting the country.

Russian Pharma Room to Grow

Vasily Ignatiev / Doing Business With Russia

Russia has risen from 54th to 51st place in the World Bank's 2016 Ease of Doing Business ranking and we entrepreneurs in the pharmaceutical industry feel that change is happening for the better. Supporting the development of local pharmaceutical production of medicines has been declared a priority by the state, and as a result, the share of drugs produced by Russian companies on the market is increasing. The Russian pharmaceutical industry as a whole is maturing — it has begun to attract people and investment from other sectors and the main investment activity is shifting from producing finished dosage forms to research and development. Additionally, Russian pharmaceutical firms are pursuing access to foreign markets.

Innovation vs. Capacity: How CMOs Compete

Jim Miller / BioPharm International

While industry participants and observers talk about the “CMO industry,” they know that it is not an undifferentiated mass of manufacturers. The contract and manufacturing organization (CMO) industry can be segmented along obvious lines such as API versus drug product manufacturers, biologics versus small molecule, dose form(s) manufactured, and geographic focus. But none of these designations reflect the strategies that each CMO is pursuing, and without that basic understanding, one cannot fully understand the prospects for the industry. 

CRISPR cuts out $90M IPO bid as another gene editing biotech goes public

Ben Adams / Fierce Biotech

Finally following in the wake of Editas and Intellia, CRISPR Therapeutics has decided to buck the tumultuous 2016 IPO trend by going public with its highly sought-after tech.

12 September 2016

Miramar Labs’ CEO Interviewed on Bloomberg Radio

Miramar Labs, Inc., (OTCQB:MRLB), a global aesthetic company, announced today that the company’s CEO, Mike Kleine, was interviewed on Bloomberg Radio’s “Taking Stock” on September, 12th, 2016 at 3:15pm EDT.

12 September 2016

Tobira Therapeutics Announces Initiation of Phase 1 Combination Study of Cenicriviroc and Evogliptin

Tobira Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBRA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and other liver diseases, today announced the initiation of a Phase 1 study of cenicriviroc (CVC) in combination with evogliptin (EVO).

Pfizer leads Series A for upstart that aims to help ‘cure Type 1 diabetes’

Ben Adams / Fierce Biotech

Pfizer, along with Orion Equity Partners and JDRF, is betting $4 million on a startup that is seeking to use targeted nanoparticle tolerance therapeutics (TNTT) across a range of immune disorders and even to one day cure Type 1 diabetes.