Teva’s strategy to boost its operational efficiency and tap strategic partnerships seems to be paying off. In its Q3 earnings report, Teva announced that global revenues were up to $3.9 billion, marking a 7% rise from the previous year’s third quarter. Factors fueling the growth include the robust performance of their specialty medications, Austedo and…
Transparency-Rx promises reform in the PBM landscape
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have recently emerged as a punching bag with the pharma trade group PhRMA accusing such orgs of driving up drug prices. Now, an alliance of PBMs known as Transparency-Rx has emerged, promising a reform initiative in a digital campaign attempting to put pressure on rival PBMs. This coalition’s efforts could reshape…
Pfizer to close Durham and Morrisville, North Carolina facilities amid major restructuring effort
In a strategic initiative to streamline operations, Pfizer said it would close facilities in Durham and Morrisville, North Carolina. The company aims to cut at least $3.5 billion in costs. The company now employs more than 80,000 people worldwide, with roughly 4,000 based in North Carolina. The closures will not affect Pfizer’s two largest facilities…
No room for error: How a holistic quality management strategy can help pharma firms adhere to strict quality standards
Ever heard the phrase “one bad apple spoils the barrel”? The proverb rings especially true in pharmaceutical manufacturing, where even trace amounts of contaminants can have grave consequences for patient safety. “In the case of pharma, the stakes are so high that even the tiniest contaminants can endanger patients and result in wasted therapeutics, amounting…
FDA resolves drug shortage for Novartis’ prostate cancer drug Pluvicto
Novartis has announced that the FDA has resolved the drug shortage status for Pluvicto (lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan). The development comes after Novartis significantly scaled up production, more than doubling its weekly production capacity since May. The company initially halted production of Pluvicto (lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan) along with Lutathera (USAN: lutetium Lu…
BMS sees new drug sales surge as Revlimid dips in Q3
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) reported a mixed bag of results for the third quarter, with new drug sales up even as its popular blood cancer drug Revlimid fell 41% to $1.43 billion owing to generic competition. The anticoagulant Eliquis is in a similar position, but was also selected to be one of the first 10 drugs…
Pfizer prices Paxlovid at $1,390 per course, more than double the federal government’s purchase price
Pfizer will price Paxlovid at $1,390 per treatment course when selling directly to health insurers beginning in 2024. That’s about 2.6 times higher than the $529 the federal government paid for the antiviral after it launched in late 2021. Pfizer plans to subsidize copays for commercially insured patients at least through 2028. Pfizer has reduced…
Survey: Cybersecurity is top concern of pharma C-suites
Cybersecurity is a concern for two-thirds of pharmaceutical C-suites (66%), according to a recent survey from Rackspace and Microsoft. The priority came ahead of supply chain/logistics management (55%) and sustainability (53%). See full data below: Data breaches in the pharma sector are costly, with the average cost of remediation topping $10 million in 2022, according…
J&J’s oncology and immunology segments shine in Q3 2023
Johnson & Johnson has announced its first earnings following its decision to rebrand its pharma segment as Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine in September. In the third quarter of 2023, the company reported sales growth of 6.8%, amounting to $21.4 billion. The bestseller for the company was Stelara with sales amounting to $2.864 billion. J&J’s…
Evolving landscape of obesity management could prioritize quality of weight loss over quantity
Obesity drugs seem to be everywhere these days. Just last week, Novo Nordisk announced that it was halting its study of semaglutide early for efficacy. The phase 3b FLOW trial explored the effects of once-weekly injectable semaglutide on kidney outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Over the weekend,…