| Pancreatic tumors are one of the most notoriously tough-to-treat cancers, but researchers in Australia have discovered one way the disease spreads itself through the body while shielding itself from chemotherapies—an overproduced protein that alters the microenvironment of cells within and around the tumor. By using gene editing to block that protein in mouse models, researchers saw drops in metastasis and stronger responses to treatment in real-time. Check out that story and the top reads from this week below. | |
|
Featured Story | | | Friday, August 9, 2019 Novo Nordisk's new GLP-1 med Ozempic is scooping up market share, and the company has another big approval expected yet this year in oral semaglutide. With its insulin products still suffering, that's a welcome relief. |
|
|
Top Stories Of The Week Monday, August 12, 2019 A research team discovered that some pancreatic tumors overproduce perlecan, a type of protein that helps cancer cells spread and shield themselves from chemotherapy. The finding could inspire new combination approaches to treating pancreatic cancer. Tuesday, August 13, 2019 AbbVie’s megatakeover of Allergan for $63 billion surprised most of the industry when the two drugmakers dropped the news in late June. Turns out it’s easier to keep a clandestine corporate courtship under wraps when only two parties are involved. Wednesday, August 14, 2019 Patients with high cholesterol stemming from a rare genetic disorder struggle to keep their cholesterol levels under control despite taking lipid-busting drugs such as statins and PCSK9 inhibitors. A new drug from Regeneron may change that. Thursday, August 15, 2019 Pfizer’s cholesterol fighter Lipitor is the biggest-selling drug of all time, at least for now. But even with $2 billion in annual sales—still growing despite generics—it's destined to yield its crown to AbbVie’s behemoth Humira. And by 2024, Avastin and Revlimid will join the top 10 crowd. Tuesday, August 13, 2019 Novartis, publicly shamed last week for manipulating data in its FDA application for gene therapy Zolgensma, has said that it launched an investigation in March, as soon as it learned of the problem. But records from the lab where the irregularities arose suggest the company’s investigation may not have been as deep or wide as the Swiss drugmaker has proclaimed. Tuesday, August 13, 2019 Pharming has licensed late-phase rare genetic disease treatment leniolisib from Novartis for $20 million (€17.9 million) upfront. The immunomodulator could come to market in activated PI3K-delta syndrome in the second half of 2021. Tuesday, August 13, 2019 A phase 3 trial of Deciphera’s ripretinib in gastrointestinal stromal tumors has hit its primary endpoint. The data sparked a surge in the company's stock price, even though details of the results leave scope to question ripretinib’s prospects. Tuesday, August 13, 2019 It wasn’t all that long ago that Johnson & Johnson was touting head-to-head results for its psoriasis drug Tremfya against Novartis’ blockbuster Cosentyx. But now, a different rival has topped Tremfya in a showdown of its own. Monday, August 12, 2019 The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has brought on one of Apple’s healthcare project leaders to serve in a new role helping lead its global digital health efforts, according to a report from CNBC. | This week's sponsor is FiercePharmaMarketing. | | | |
Resources Sponsored by: Wesco Pharmaceutical Solutions and WBR Insights The regulations and managing processes for hazardous, controlled and rare chemicals and biologics necessary for drug discovery are a huge distraction for R&D labs. Learn from the perspectives of industry executives the pain points and improvements they want in their processes for chemicals and biologics in pharmaceuticals R&D. Sponsored by: Kinaxis Download this life sciences industry spotlight to discover how concurrent planning can help you overcome complex supply chain challenges to drive down costs and improve efficiency. Sponsored by: Patheon, by Thermo Fisher Scientific Patheon, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, offers advanced API manufacturing technologies such as continuous processing and continuous analytics to deliver high-quality products with well-defined features to meet your timelines and volume requirements. Sponsored by: ICON Understanding the challenges for formulary decision makers and manufacturers. Sponsored by: Veeva This white paper details how leveraging new reporting capabilities, live UAT feedback sessions, and an agile design approach to study builds will save them time and money. Sponsored by: BBK Worldwide The Study Voices survey challenges the myth that physicians won’t refer patients to clinical trials, and it identifies opportunities to engage physicians as partners in the enrollment process. Sponsored by: Cambrex The highest number of NCEs approved by the FDA…the fastest growing small molecule clinical pipeline reported in 20 years…these are exciting times for our industry. Sponsored by: Reprints Desk, Inc. Cut your research time in half - with an easy-to-use app for scientists that combines full-featured reference management with integrated search and on-demand document delivery. Sponsored by: XiltriX North America Find out in this article how your pharmaceutical organization can leverage IoT technologies and informatics integration to innovate and improve overall operational efficiencies. Sponsored by: Catalent Download the case study to learn about the clinical supply management tools that helped a small sized pharma company during phase III of a multi-arm oncology study. Sponsored by: Catalent Watch a short video on demand led supply model. It is designed to meet the needs of patients, clinical sites, clinical team and sponsors and results in shorter lead time, less waste, less stock out risk and no booklet labels. Sponsored by: Catalent Download the eBook to explore a proactive approach for clinical supply management. | 