Brian Buntz

Cambridge, Mass.–headquartered Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) will hire at least 155 new manufacturing employees for manufacturing jobs at its plant in Norwood, Mass. A $2.33 million tax incentive from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center helped bankroll the expansion. The investment will enable the company to double the size of its manufacturing site in Norwood, Mass., which became operational in 2018. With…

The West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin III (D-W. Va) sent a letter to President Joe Biden expressing his dismay regarding the FDA’s approval of Aduhelm (aducanumab), the controversial Alzheimer’s treatment from Biogen (NSDQ:BIIB). The nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen sent a broadly similar letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to “express its outrage” over the approval and to demand…

Now that we have passed the year’s midway mark, pharma continues to be in a unique position. While COVID-19 gave the industry an opportunity for a reputational reset in 2020, the pandemic is now a net positive for the industry, according to the recent Moody’s report, “Solid demand, lift from COVID-19 products continue to drive…

Bayer (ETR:BAYN) is pumping cash into its operations in Turku, a city on the southwest coast of Finland.  The company is at once modernizing its current operations there while also constructing a new pharmaceutical plant.   Bayer notes that the new facility will make extensive use of automation and robotics.  Bayer first built the existing Turku plant…

The pandemic has eased throughout much of the world. But demand for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments continues to be brisk, according to ratings agency Moody’s. In general, the pandemic will contribute to the pharmaceutical industry’s projected EBITDA growth rate of 4% to 6% over the coming 12 to 18 months, the firm concluded. While a…

President Joe Biden has struck a deal with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) to provide 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to roughly 100 countries over two years. Biden will announce the plan in the near future at an appearance with Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla, according to a report out yesterday in The New York Times. The…

More than two-thirds of Congress received campaign funding from pharmaceutical companies in the 2020 election, according to STAT. Industry-friendly senators such as Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) received some of the largest sums. Influential representatives such as Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) also received significant amounts. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Amgen…

Regeneron’s (NSDQ:REGN) top two execs, CEO Dr. Leonard Schleifer and CSO Dr. George Yancopoulos, are two of the best-paid in biotech.  Two proxy advisory service firms, Glass Lewis (San Francisco, Calif.) and Institutional Shareholder Services (Rockville, Md.), are balking at Regeneron’s executive pay program and practices.  The two firms are urging shareholders to oust George…

As the U.S. economy continues to stabilize in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, prescription volumes continue to rebound as well. The overall market growth for prescription drugs from May 21–28 hit 21% year over year, according to IQVIA data. The growth rate in the prior two weeks was 13%. New prescription growth from May…

FDA has issued guidance documents to help pharmaceutical stakeholders identify illegitimate products and remove them from the supply chain. Two of the documents are final, while another two are draft guidance.  “Ensuring the quality of prescription drugs and safeguarding the integrity of pharmaceutical distribution are crucial roles the FDA plays in protecting the health of…