AstraZeneca

Sanofi announced today that it’s shipping Beyfortus injection doses to the U.S. to ensure availability ahead of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season. The company shipped 50mg and 100mg injection doses of Beyfortus (nirsevimab-alip) to private healthcare providers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its Vaccines for Children program. Sanofi expects the U.S.…

Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced that AstraZeneca would invest $300 million to construct a new manufacturing facility in Rockville, a city with roughly 70,000 inhabitants that is about 17 miles from Washington, D.C. The facility will focus on cell therapies for cancer treatment. The 84,000 square-foot facility, slated for completion in 2026, will enable global…

Cambridge, UK–based AstraZeneca continued its strong growth trajectory in Q3 2023, expanding its cardiometabolic and obesity pipeline with a focus on GLP-1 receptor agonists. In particular, AstraZeneca has a licensing agreement with Eccogene for ECC5004, a potential oral GLP-1RA for obesity and cardiometabolic conditions, represents the company’s strategic focus on this emerging therapeutic area, which…

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of severe lower respiratory tract infections like pneumonia and bronchiolitis in infants and young children. Traditionally there have been no approved treatments for RSV infections, with care being largely supportive. But the landscape is quickly changing. The FDA recently approved Beyfortus (nirsevimab), the first immunoprophylactic to prevent…

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) has sold its site in West Chester, Ohio, to National Resilience, a San Diego–headquartered biomanufacturing company. Resilience has agreed to maintain the site’s operations and assets while retaining its employees, including executives. The company will also continue investing in the site’s workforce and facility. Privately-held National Resilience also has separately announced that it…

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) was among the first companies to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, but the firm has given up on marketing its Vaxzevria vaccine in the U.S. The company’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, announced that it had asked the FDA to withdraw its regulatory paperwork for Vaxzevria. The vaccine developed jointly with Oxford University saw considerable success…

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) has announced that its long-acting antibody combination Evusheld (tixagevimab and cilgavimab) has received marketing authorization in the European Union.  Formerly known as AZD7442, Evusheld is indicated for treating individuals 12 and older infected with SARS-CoV-2 who are at risk for severe COVID-19. The indication is limited to those weighing at least 40 kg…

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) has appointed Michel Demaré as the chair-designate of its board. Demaré will replace Leif Johansson, the current chair of the board of AstraZeneca, who plans to retire in April 2023. There will be a managed handover period in the coming months. Demaré joined AstraZeneca’s board of directors in September 2019 as an independent…

A new congressional report concluded that Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) attempted to hide evidence related to quality problems before informing the FDA that 15 million COVID-19 vaccines were contaminated. Prepared for Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and James E. Clyburn (D-SC), the report from the House and the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis scrutinizes the quality controls in…

A number of developing nations have refused tens of millions of doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines, according to a report from Reuters. The countries had received doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the COVAX initiative, a global project that focuses on ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. COVAX has distributed 1.4 billion shots to 144 nations…