Summing up Dr. Cato Laurencin’s accomplishments is no easy task. As an orthopedic surgeon, engineer and founder of an emerging field of science — regenerative engineering — Laurencin has won numerous prestigious awards, written books, had his work called out as a game-changing scientific achievement and been honored by The White House. Most of the…
BASF Readies Medical Food Product
BASF has entered a partnership to develop a “first-of-its-kind” medical food product. Under the agreement, BASF will lend scientific expertise and manufacturing capabilities, while DIEM Labs will market and sell the product. The medical food will be designed to help patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). BASF hasn’t disclosed what exactly will be in…
GSK Poaches R&D Veteran To Boost Drug Development Potential
The biggest pharma manufacturer in England has persuaded an industry veteran to join its team and increase the company’s potential to produce blockbuster drugs. According to a report in Reuters, GlaxoSmithKline recently hired Hal Barron, who had been working at Calico. Barron also spent many years at Roche and oversaw the company’s development of several…
Valeant Sells $1B ‘Female Viagra’ Back To Sprout For Almost Nothing
In most ways, Valeant Pharmaceutical International’s gamble on Addyi has been a major failure. The company purchased the drug — designed to boost female libido — from Sprout Pharmaceuticals for $1 billion in 2015. But after reporting abysmal sales, the company announced it will hand the medication back to Sprout, along with a $25 million…
Teva Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Lilly
Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries is hoping to block a migraine medication made by Eli Lilly from entering the market. According to a report in Reuters, Israeli-based Teva filed a patent infringement lawsuit in federal court in Boston against the American pharmaceutical company. The suit alleges that Lilly’s migraine treatment, galcanezumab infringes on five of Teva’s patents.…
Celgene’s $710M Gamble On A Crohn’s Disease Drug Ends In Defeat
American biotech company Celgene recently announced that it has prematurely halted a phase three clinical trial for a drug called mongersen. Celgene purchased the company that developed the treatment four years ago for $710 million, with the goal of bolstering its line of immunology and inflammation treatments. But those hopes were dashed after independent monitors…
FDA Gives Positive Review Of Aerie’s Experimental Glaucoma Drug
A study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has backed up Aerie Pharmaceutical’s evidence that its experimental drug is effective in treating glaucoma. According to Reuters, the results were from a preliminary review, and the agency is still waiting on advice from outside experts. But upon news of the findings, Aerie’s shares jumped by…
Eli Lilly Cancer Drug Misses The Mark In Critical Study
Eli Lilly reported disappointing results from a late-stage test of one of its cancer drugs. According to Reuters, the pharmaceutical giant was testing a drug called Verzenio on patients with lung cancer. Verzenio was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year for patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. But the treatment…
Researchers Grow Expensive Cancer Drug In Chicken Eggs
A group of Japanese scientists are hoping to help drive down the cost of an expensive cancer drug by growing an active ingredient in chicken eggs. According to a report in Newsweek, the researchers have edited the genomes of hens so that they will lay eggs containing interferon, a protein that helps stop cancer cells…
FDA Approves Generic Version Of Teva’s Blockbuster Drug
The U.S. Food And Drug Administration is keeping its promise to support competition for generic complex drugs. But for Teva Pharmaceuticals, that push has generated bad news. Last week, the FDA announced that it’s approving Mylan’s generic version of Copaxone — Teva’s best-selling multiple-sclerosis drug. Upon news the Mylan’s generic version had been given a…
5 Bizarre Places Scientists Are Hunting for Novel Antibiotics
It’s one of the most urgent issues facing the world of medicine: as bacteria develop resistance to existing antibiotics, patients are facing the threat of superbugs and nasty infections that are getting harder to treat. The situation is made even more critical when considering the long, expensive and risky business of bringing a new drug…