Drug Discovery and Development

The U.S. government is planning to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to accelerate biomedical research. The new federal research agency will not be based alongside its NIH parent in Bethesda, Maryland. After winning authorization to create the agency, Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and several colleagues in Massachusetts are asking the…

The popularity of CRISPR-based non-viral gene insertion techniques is fueling interest in CRISPR/Cas genome-editing technology that uses the homology-directed repair (HDR) pathway to insert DNA sequences. To respond to that demand, biotech services firm GenScript has introduced GMP-compliant single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and closed-end linear double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) services. The company’s GenExact ssDNA services support up to…

The Biden-Harris administration has announced that the NIH has licensed COVID-19 research technologies and vaccine candidates to the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). Working with the WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), the NIH will provide licenses to enable manufacturers to use the technologies to develop COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostics. In total, NIH is providing…

In 2021, Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) pharmaceutical segment Janssen reported revenue of more than $50 billion in fiscal 2021 and operational growth of 13.1%. Janssen exec Tom Cavanaugh’s next big goal for Janssen is ensure Janssen is a $60 billion pharmaceutical company by 2025. Heavy reliance on R&D will get them there, said Cavanaugh — Janssen’s…

With the blockbuster dreams of the Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm (aducanumab) dashed for the foreseeable future, Biogen has announced that its CEO Michel Vounatsos will depart. Vounatsos began his tenure as CEO in 2017. Vounatsos’ plans to exit the company came out on the same day that Biogen reported Q1 adjusted earnings per share of $3.62,…

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) shares rose today on first-quarter financial results that came in ahead of the consensus forecast. The New York-based pharmaceutical company posted profits of $7.9 billion, or $1.37 per share, on sales of $25.7 billion for the three months ended April 3, 2022, for a 61.2% bottom-line gain on sales growth of 76.8%. Adjusted…

FDA is planning a series of virtual meetings of its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) throughout June. In the meetings, the advisory committee will discuss authorizing the COVID-19 vaccine from Novavax (Nasdaq:NVAX) and authorizing the use of the vaccines from Moderna (Nasdaq: MRNA) and Pfizer-BioNTech (NYSE:PFE; Nasdaq:BNTX) in children aged 6 months…

The contract research organization (CRO) Syneos Health has promoted Michelle Keefe to be its CEO and a member of its board. Keefe was previously the president, medical affairs and commercial solutions at Morrisville, North Carolina-based Syneos. The company’s departing CEO, Alistair Macdonald, is retiring after working at the company for two decades. Macdonald will serve…

Retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt) inhibitors are currently in development for various indications. RORγt plays a crucial role in driving T helper 17 (Th17) differentiation and interleukin 17 (IL-17) expression. In homeostasis, these cells play a vital role in the defense against bacteria and fungi. However, this cell type seems to be…

Given the complexity of the pharmaceutical business, it can be challenging to gauge the performance of any chief executive in the space. That said, CEOs’ annualized return over tenure as CEO over their term can hint at performance. In addition, rating sites like Glassdoor also indicate CEOs’ popularity. Here, we parsed a range of metrics,…

After winning FDA approval for the controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm (aducanumab) in June 2021, Biogen (Nasdaq:BIIB) has encountered a string of setbacks. Most recently, the company has decided to yank its applications for market approval after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended the refusal of the marketing authorization for Aduhelm in December 2021. At that…

It doesn’t get any bigger than Amazon in the world of cloud computing. The Amazon Web Services cloud computing business at Seattle-based Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) is the largest player in the industry, with control of about a third of the market and a significant lead over cloud competitors Microsoft and Google. Dr. Taha Kass-Hout, the…

Takeda (NYSE:TAK) has announced that it has won manufacturing and marketing approval from the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for Nuvaxovid, a novel COVID-19 vaccine. Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) was initially developed by Novavax (Nasdaq:NVAX). The approval covers the use of the vaccine as both a primary and booster immunization in adults at least…

Introduction The study of genetics dates to the mid-19th century, from the works of Gregor Mendel, but it wasn’t until the completion of the Human Genome Project and other significant technological advances in the second half of the 20th century that great strides were made in the field of genetics. In light of these advances,…

PROTACs, or PROteolysis TArgeting Chimera, emerged as novel therapeutic modalities in 2001 but have only begun emerging from clinical trials (PROTAC® is a registered trademark of Arvinas. In this article, PROTAC specifically refers to the abbreviation of PROteolysis TArgeting Chimera as therapeutic modalities). PROTACs’ unique structures and modes of action (MOA) differentiate them from conventional…

The pharmaceutical industry continues to see strong growth and is poised to have a compound annual growth rate of 13.7% from 2020 to 2027, according to projections from Grand View Research. Pharma positions remain in high demand, and R&D-focused pharma and biotech companies tend to offer lucrative salaries and strong job security. Slated to have…

Quillaja saponin-based adjuvant specialist Q-VANT Biosciences announced that Kansas University College of Veterinary Medicine will test its adjuvants in several of its veterinary vaccines. The project’s first focus will test Q-VANT’s sustainable saponin-based adjuvants against other adjuvants using K-State’s subunit classic swine fever (CSF) vaccine. The Kansas University researchers will also validate the safety and…

Olympus (TYO: 7733) announced today that it has completed the separation of its Scientific Solutions Division into a wholly-owned subsidiary called Evident. The creation of Evident — which encompasses life science research and industrial equipment — enables Olympus management to better focus on the continued growth of the company’s Medical Business, which made up 86%…

Bruker Corp. (Nasdaq:BRKR) has debuted new technologies for spatial multiomics, single-cell proteomics and cell-line, tissue and plasma proteomics cancer research. The company announced the new offerings at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2022. Bruker is also building on its strategic investment in AmberGen, a Boston-based life science technology focused on photonic…

Moderna (Nasdaq:MRNA) announced today that it appointed Jorge Gomez as its new chief financial officer. Gomez resigned as CFO of Dentsply Sirona (Nasdaq:XRAY), effective May 6, to assume the same role at Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna. He will join effective May 9. Dentsply Sirona said in a news release that it is initiating a search process…

BioNTech SE (Nasdaq:BNTX) will partner with Matinas BioPharma (NYSE AMER:MTNB) to develop mRNA formats that use Matinas’ proprietary lipid nanocrystal (LNC) platform technology that could enable oral delivery. The two companies will partner on formulation, optimization and in vitro testing. BioNTech CEO Dr. Ugur Sahin said that the partnership could lead to the development of…

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) announced today that it entered into an agreement to acquire biopharmaceutical company ReViral. ReViral discovers, develops and commercializes novel antiviral therapeutics designed to target respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). “At Pfizer, we have a strong heritage in, and commitment to, fighting infectious diseases, most recently evidenced by our delivery of the first authorized vaccine…

Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies recently announced analysis data on the benefits of Xarelto. The Phase 3 Voyager PAD clinical trial evaluated the Xarelto (rivaroxaban) vascular dose (2.5 mg twice daily plus aspirin 100 mg once daily) in reducing severe vascular events in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) after lower-extremity revascularization (LER).…

Drug sales in 2021 hit record heights, with a handful of pharmaceutical companies handsomely rewarded for creating COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Pfizer alone raked in $36.9 billion in sales from the Comirnaty vaccine it developed jointly with BioNTech. Demand for the COVID-19 vaccine helped catapult Pfizer to be 2021’s top pharmaceutical company. Continued demand for…

Organ-on-a-chip technology, which simulates the function of an organ or an organ system, has steadily evolved over the past decade.  The promise of the technology has evolved as well, said Timothy Petrie, head of strategy and business development, pharmaceutical R&D technologies at Draper (Cambridge, Mass).  In the beginning, it seemed like the central appeal of…