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Top Stories Of The Week Monday, January 30, 2017 After an unusually slow year for new drug approvals—the FDA greenlighted just 22 meds in 2016—it remains to be seen whether drugmakers can do much better in 2017. One thing’s for sure, though: No matter what total the industry tallies up this year, the crop will bring some would-be blockbusters and market disrupters. Tuesday, January 31, 2017 In the last few weeks, David Epstein has moved from Novartis’ cancer unit to VC Flagship and Alessandro Riva also left the Swiss major for an exec role at Gilead. Now Rick Fair has become the latest to leave a Big Pharma as he exits as head of oncology at Roche/Genentech to become the new CEO and president of Texas biotech Bellicum. Friday, January 27, 2017 Back in the summer, Novartis quietly announced that the FDA had rejected its application for a biosimilar version of blockbuster drug Neulasta (pegfilgrastim); today, any European reprieve was lost as the Swiss major yanked its application from the EMA. Monday, January 30, 2017 Pharma companies are in the crosshairs on drug pricing, no question. So, perhaps it's no surprise that few major drugmakers would comment publicly on President Trump's executive order blocking citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. Allergan, Merck, Novartis and Eli Lilly are the only Big Pharmas to have spoken—some more than others—but a variety of biotechs have made their opposition known. Monday, January 30, 2017 Sanofi's vaccines unit has settled up with class-action plaintiffs that claimed the company leveraged its heavyweight status in the field to knock aside a rival meningococcal jab from Novartis. Wednesday, February 1, 2017 Medtronic has enlisted advisers to prepare the sale of its medical supplies business, in whole or in parts, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg. A deal could bring in as much as $5 billion. Thursday, February 2, 2017 Parexel has acquired contract medical affairs business The Medical Affairs Company as it looks to bolster its outsourced healthcare specialist offering. Tuesday, January 31, 2017 Novartis, which last year received a complete response letter from the FDA for its biosimilar of Amgen’s blockbuster drug Neulasta (pegfilgrastim), has now withdrawn its application in the European Union after regulators raised questions about its biosimilarity, but also manufacturing. Monday, January 30, 2017 Chemotherapy often causes infertility in young women because the drugs are designed to damage all rapidly growing cells, including those in ovarian follicles. Now researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital believe they’ve hit upon a method for protecting ovaries from the damaging effects of chemo. |
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