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…
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…
Lilly acquires Point Biopharma amid third FDA rejection in 2023
Eli Lilly and Company has recently received its third FDA rejection for the year 2023. The most recent came for lebrikizumab, the company’s investigational treatment for atopic dermatitis. FDA made the decision following an inspection of a third-party contract manufacturing organization. The agency had no complaints concerning the clinical data, safety, or labeling of lebrikizumab,…
Pfizer’s revenue soared in the pandemic, but its stock valuation slipped relative to industry peers since 2000
In recent years, Pfizer has emerged as the largest Big Pharma firm. In 2022, its revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time. But even though the pandemic has cemented the company as a leading pharmaceutical powerhouse — with a healthy M&A appetite — it does not count among the upper echelon of public companies…
FTC approves Amgen-Horizon merger
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has signed off on Amgen’s proposed $27.8 billion purchase of Horizon Therapeutics . The acquisition, one of the largest pharma deals in recent years, is set to close in the early fourth quarter of 2022. The agreement resolves an FTC lawsuit filed in May attempting to block the deal over…
An interactive look at the drugs accounting for a fifth of Medicare’s spending
As Medicare prepares to negotiate drug prices directly with pharma companies, the White House has selected 10 drugs that make up 20% — one-fifth — of Medicare’s annual spending. Our analysis provides a deep dive into these drugs, including their costs, the number of enrollees depending on them and the significant price hikes since their…
HHS awards more than $1 billion to advance next-gen COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $1.4 billion to support vaccine clinical trials to test new, more effective and longer-lasting COVID-19 vaccines. In all, Project NextGen is a $5 billion initiative from Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The…
Biopharma talent wars heat up as openings spike in 2023
The biopharma industry had a lull in job opening growth from late 2022 and into early 2023. At that time, some early stage companies struggled to secure funding, while larger firms adopted a more cautious posture, according to recent research from the global real-estate firm JLL. Madeline Holmes, a senior research analyst at the company,…
Lilly wraps up acquisition of Versanis, marking the fifth largest pharma deal of 2023
Eli Lilly just wrapped up its acquisition of Versanis Bio in a $1.9 billion deal, the pharma giant announced today. The deal marks Lilly’s latest move to build up its pipeline of potential obesity and diabetes treatments, which promises to be a notable growth area for the company. Lilly recently completed its submission of tirzepatide…