News

Evotec continues expansion

Country
Germany

Evotec AG ended the 2017 first quarter with a broader revenue base, two new drug discovery agreements and Novo A/S as a strategic shareholder to help the company execute its strategy as a service provider and research partner for the global pharma industry.

Tecentriq misses endpoint in trial

Country
Switzerland

The Roche Group’s checkpoint antibody, Tecentriq (atezolizumab), has missed the primary endpoint of overall survival in a Phase 3 trial, designed to confirm the drug’s efficacy in urothelial cancer and convert an earlier accelerated approval in the US to a full approval.

AstraZeneca asthma compound fails trial

Country
United Kingdom

The first of two pivotal Phase 3 trials of a new anti-interleukin-13 drug for severe asthma has failed to meets its primary endpoint of a significant reduction in the annual asthma exacerbation rate, AstraZeneca Plc announced on 10 May.

Poxel diabetes drug succeeds in Japan trial

Country
France

Poxel SA has reported positive data from a Phase 2b study in Japan of imeglimin, its treatment for Type 2 diabetes. The primary endpoint of the trial was met, and was more pronounced in the Japanese patients than had been the case in similar Phase 2b trials in the US and the EU.

Japan leads the way on ALS

Country
United States

In a reversal of the usual sequence of events, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) two years after the same treatment was authorised for marketing in Japan and South Korea.

EMA issues Brexit guidance

The European Medicines Agency has issued guidance to companies with centralised marketing authorisations spelling out what they need to do to be in compliance with EU medicines law once Britain leaves the union.

Laquinimod fails to meet endpoint in MS trial

Country
Sweden

A Phase 3 trial of an experimental drug for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, laquinimod, has failed to meet its primary endpoint which was to show an improvement in the time to confirmed disease progression.

AZ buys rights to preclinical respiratory asset

Country
United Kingdom

AstraZeneca Plc has taken steps to bolster its respiratory portfolio with a licensing deal for a preclinical drug candidate that is being developed for patients with moderate to severe asthma.

MorphoSys to increase R&D spending

Country
Germany

MorphoSys AG plans to substantially increase spending on research and development this year as more of its proprietary antibody therapeutics advance in the clinic. Speaking to analysts on 3 May the chief executive, Simon Moroney, predicted steady progress in developing the portfolio, financed by liquidity that stood at €349.9 million on 31 March.

Drug approved in US for enzyme deficiency

Country
United States

An enzyme replacement therapy, Brineura (cerliponase alfa), has been approved in the US for children with a rare inherited disorder that primarily affects the nervous system. The disorder, tripeptidyl peptidase-1 (TPP1) deficiency, is a form of Batten disease.