AstraZeneca

The HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugate Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) has won FDA approval for patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-low breast cancer. Enhertu, a HER2-directed antibody drug conjugate, is now the first approved therapy for patients with the HER2-low breast cancer subtype. The recent approval covers patients with HER2-low breast cancer if they have had chemotherapy for…

Merck (NYSE:MRK) has announced that it will stop the Phase 3 LYNK-003 trial focused on Lynparza (olaparib) with or without bevacizumab for patients with unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer. Two experimental arms in the trial, one focused on Lynparza as monotherapy or in combination with the immunotherapy drug bevacizumab, will be suspended. The primary endpoint…

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) has announced it has entered an agreement to acquire TeneoTwo and its Phase 1 clinical-stage CD19/CD3 T-cell engager TNB-486. The company will pay $100 million on deal closing to acquire all outstanding equity of TeneoTwo. In addition, AstraZeneca will pay an additional $805 million in milestone payments and another $360 million in potential…

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and Daiichi Sankyo’s (OTCMKTS:DSNKY) Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki) showed a dramatic survival benefit in the pivotal DESTINY-Breast04 Phase 3 study focused on a subset of breast cancer patients. The DNA topoisomerase I inhibitor improved median overall survival by more than six months compared to chemotherapy in the study. In addition, the drug met the…

RQ Biotechnology (London) emerged from stealth mode today, saying that AstraZeneca will pay it up to $157 million plus royalties for its existing mAbs against SARS-CoV-2. “Our vision is to build on our successful debut with neutralizing antibody therapy for SARS-CoV-2 and develop innovative medicines to address current and evolving unmet needs in other viral…

AstraZeneca’s (LON:AZN) SGLT2 inhibitor Farxiga (dapagliflozin) led to a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in the primary composite endpoint of cardiovascular death or worsening heart failure in the DELIVER Phase 3 study.  First FDA approved in 2014 as a type 2 diabetes treatment, Farxiga has scored approvals related to heart failure and chronic kidney…

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) has announced that its supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Imfinzi (durvalumab) has received Priority Review from FDA when used with chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer (BTC). The company had submitted data from the TOPAZ-1 Phase 3 study indicating an improvement in overall survival compared to standard-of-care chemotherapy.…

The HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugate Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) has won its fifth breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA. Enhertu was developed jointly by AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and Daiichi Sankyo (OTCMKTS: DSNKY). The latest designation relates to treating adults with unresectable or metastatic HER2-low (IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ISH-negative) breast cancer. Of the five breakthrough therapy designations for the drug,…

In the Phase 3 Provent trial, Evusheld (AZD442) cut the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 by 77% in the primary analysis focused on patients at high risk for severe COVID-19. The monoclonal antibody cocktail, including tixagevimab and cilgavimab cut the risk by 83% in the six-month follow-up analysis compared to placebo.  The drug is currently authorized…

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. The best pharma companies to work for continue to offer a number of advantages to skilled workers. Pharma positions remain in high demand, and…

If 2020 underscored the importance of the pharma industry’s social importance, 2021 demonstrated the industry’s ability to translate R&D spending into profitable commercialized products. But while strong demand for COVID-19 therapies in 2021 provided unprecedented revenue levels for a handful of Big Pharma companies, it didn’t result in substantial changes in R&D spending.  (Look out…

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) is looking for final year MD or PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to reach out with ideas to speed drug discovery and development in the company’s core disease areas. The company’s central focus areas include oncology; cardiovascular, renal and metabolism; and respiratory and immunology. Candidates accepted into the program have a fully funded…

Lynparza (olaparib) significantly reduced death risk when treating germline BRCA-mutated high-risk early breast cancer in the Phase 3 OlympiA study, according to AstraZeneca (LON: AZN). Lynparza recently became the first FDA-approved medicine targeting BRCA mutations in the same type of cancer. The drug is the first poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor to show an overall survival…

AstraZeneca’s (LON:AZN) and Sanofi‘s (Nasdaq:SNY) nirsevimab had 75% efficacy against lower respiratory tract infections resulting from rr (RSV) in a Phase 3 study. There are currently few treatment options for lower respiratory tract infections stemming from RSV. Two antivirals, palivizumab and ribavirin, are available, while new vaccines are currently authorized. RSV is the most common…

Few healthcare companies were included in the annual ranking of innovative companies from the analytics firm Clarivate plc (NYSE:CLVT). Two companies in pharma and another in medtech, however, made the cut. Johnson & Johnson was featured for the second consecutive year as a top 100 Global innovator. Roche was included for the 11th consecutive year…

FDA has accepted the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan), a HER2-directed antibody and DNA topoisomerase I inhibitor conjugate from AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and Daiichi Sankyo (OTCMKTS:DSNKY). The sBLA pertains to treating adults with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer previously treated with an anti-HER2-based regimen. FDA also granted priority review to the…

Scientists have experimented with mRNA for decades, but the pandemic foisted the platform into the limelight. The Pfizer-BioNTech (NYSE:PFE/NSDQ:BNTX) and Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) COVID-19 vaccines have since emerged as two of the best-selling pharmaceutical products in recent memory. Researchers are now exploring dozens of new possibilities for the mRNA platform. Here, we summarize several areas where…

The pandemic continued to remake the pharma and biotech industry this past year. A handful of companies fared exceptionally well at commercializing COVID-19 therapies. This fact promises to lead to sizable shifts in the rankings of pharma leaders. These trends were not yet evident in our spring roundup of the 50 largest pharma companies, which…

FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for AstraZeneca’s (NSDQ:AZN) Evusheld antibody cocktail as pre-exposure prophylaxis for COVID-19. The indications for use limit its use to adults and children at least 12 years old who weigh at least 40 kg. The EUA covers individuals who are not sick with COVID-19 who have not been exposed…

Hutchmed (HKG:0013) and AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) have announced the launch of the SACHI Phase 3 study to test the combination of Orpathys (savolitinib) and Tagrissso (osimertinib) as a treatment for locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Specifically, the study will focus on patients with amplification of the MET…

The mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech (NYSE:PFE/NSDQ:BNTX) and Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) appear to work well as a second dose in recipients of a single dose of the AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) AZD1222 vaccine. A report in Lancet found that two doses of AstraZeneca’s AZD1222 vaccine were 50% effective. Recipients who received a dose of the AZD1222 vaccine followed by…

The goal of using artificial intelligence to transform drug discovery and development may not be novel. But a new alliance is unique in both the stature of companies belonging to it and its choice of an innovation model. Big Pharma firms AstraZeneca (LON:AZN), Merck KGaA (ETR: MRK), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Teva (NYSE:TEVA) will partner with Amazon…

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) has filed paperwork with the FDA for an emergency use authorization (EUA) for AZD7442, a long-acting antibody (LAAB) cocktail, as a COVID-19 prophylaxis. The paperwork filed for the EUA request includes data from the PROVENT and STORM CHASER Phase 3 trials. A Phase 3 trial of AZD7442 showed statistically significant protection against COVID-19 infection. Compared…

The biopharma Terns Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:TERN) has appointed Dr. ​​Ann E. Taylor to its board of directors.  Taylor, who served as AstraZeneca‘s chief medical officer from April 2019 to August 2021, has more than 35 years of experience in drug development. Other notable companies she has worked for include Pfizer, Novartis and AstraZeneca subsidiary MedImmune.  Dr.…

AstraZeneca (LON: AZN) announced that Imfinzi (durvalumab) together with tremelimumab and platinum-based chemotherapy improved overall survival by 23% and progression-free survival by 28% compared to chemotherapy alone in patients with Stage IV (metastatic) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The data came from a Phase 3 trial known as POSEIDON. Imfinzi and tremelimumab are immune checkpoint…