The pharma industry briefing

The latest news, approvals and clinical trials you need to know about this month

Data:
News
in Numbers

$1 trillion

The value that the Chinese pharmaceutical market is expected to reach by 2020

60%

The amount of pharma companies using or trying blockchain according to a survey by the Pistoia Alliance

3 5%

The estimated amount that antibiotic-resistant bloodstream infections rose by between 2013 and 2017 according to a report from Public Health England

1 in 10

WHO estimates that one in ten medical products in low and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified

$1.5bn

The amount Swedish pharma Sobi forked out to secure rights to two AstraZeneca drugs

Data:
News
in Numbers

$1 trillion

The value that the Chinese pharmaceutical market is expected to reach by 2020

60%

The amount of pharma companies using or trying blockc hain according to a survey by the Pistoia Alliance

3 5%

The estimated amount that antibiotic-resistant bloodstream infections rose by between 2013 and 2017 according to a report from Public Health England

1 in 10

WHO estimates that one in ten medical products in low and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified

$1.5bn

The amount Swedish pharma Sobi forked out to secure rights to two AstraZeneca drugs

Six in ten UK hospital pharmacists encounter medicines shortages daily, survey finds

According to a new survey carried out by the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists, 60% of hospital pharmacists in the UK experience daily medicines shortages.

The survey asked a total of 1,666 hospital pharmacists in 38 countries about their experiences with medicines shortages. It found that 36% of pharmacists experience shortages on a daily basis across the EU.

Source: The Pharmaceutical Journal

Supreme Court deals blow to second medical use patents

The UK Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by pharmaceutical company Pfizer, in a case that should provide clarity on patent law surrounding claims for new medical uses for a protected drug.

In judgment handed down in November, the court allowed an appeal by generic drug makers Actavis and Mylan. The decision means Pfizer’s patent covering a second medical use for its product is invalid.

Source: The Law Society Gazette

Pfizer to raise prices on 41 drugs in 2019

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer will raise the list prices of 41 medications early next year, according to a statement released by the company.

The plans mean Pfizer would resume the practice of raising drug list prices after rolling back some increases under criticism from President Trump.

Source: Wall Street journal

Seqirus invests $140 million in flu vaccine manufacturing

CSL Limited subsidiary Seqirus has announced a $140m expansion of its North Carolina site for the manufacturing of its cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine.

The expansion at the Holly Springs facility will allow Seqirus to increase capacity for formulation, fill and finish manufacturing of cell-based and adjuvanted influenza vaccines for global markets.

Source: Cision

Approvals

Aemcolo (rifamycin)

The US FDA clearedCosmo Pharma’s traveller’s diarrhoea drug Aemcolo, which some analysts say could be a big threat to a rival drug sold by Bausch Health’s Salix unit.

The US regulator cleared Aemcolo (rifamycin) for the treatment of adults with travellers’ diarrhoea caused by non-invasive strains of Escherichia coli not complicated by fever or blood in the stool, a condition that afflicts millions of people around the world each year.

Source: Pharmaphorum

Emgality (galcanezumab)

The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended granting a marketing authorisation for Emgality (galcanezumab), a monoclonal antibody for the prevention of migraine.

Emgality belongs to a new class of medicines that work by blocking the activity of calcitonin gene-related peptide, a molecule that is involved in migraine attacks.

Source: Pharma Times

Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin)

The US FDA has expanded the approved use of Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) injection in combination with chemotherapy for adult patients with certain types of peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

This is the first FDA approval for treatment of newly diagnosed PTCL, and the agency used a new review programme to complete the approval more quickly.

Source: FDA

NRX-101

NeuroRx, a clinical stage biopharma company focused on the development of rapid acting antidepressants that target the brain’s NMDA receptor, has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA for development of NRX-101.

The designation is for treatment of severe bipolar depression with acute suicidal ideation & behaviour after initial stabilis ation with an effective therapy.

Source: Business wire