Even in normal times, being the head of a major agency like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would be challenging. These are far from normal times, so challenges will likely be even greater for the person expected to be nominated by President Biden. This week we also look at preparing for a pandemic superbug, a record year of venture financing for ... READ MORE >
biotech
5 things to know in life sciences: Week of July 26
This week we highlight the United States Food and Drug Administration’s approval of an insulin biosimilar and their granting of its status as interchangeable with the name brand drug. This promises significant savings for diabetic patients who often face financial hardships because of the cost of care. We also look at an artificial intelligence tool for ... READ MORE >
5 things to know in life sciences: Week of March 29
Each week, we highlight five things you need to know about in the life sciences industry. Here’s the latest. 1. FTC challenges biopharma merger as antitrust scrutiny grows Less than two weeks after the Federal Trade Commission announced it would be taking a more stringent look at mergers in the biopharmaceutical industry, the proposed Illumina and Grail ... READ MORE >
5 things to know in life sciences: Week of Feb. 15
In this week’s roundup we look at promising results in a clinical trial leveraging an existing diabetes drug for the treatment of obesity, a new and less invasive treatment for sleep apnea, and a new technology in cardiac catheters. We also examine the impact of the pandemic on oncology trials and the challenges of developing new treatments for Alzheimer’s ... READ MORE >
5 things to know in life sciences: Week of Feb. 8
In this week’s roundup, we look at the impact of new COVID-19 variants on existing vaccines for the disease; South Africa made the difficult decision to stop using its most readily available vaccine after it showed limited effectiveness against the variant most common there. This is an important reminder that getting the first vaccines approved was a ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: How COVID-19 vaccines compare on cold storage requirements
About 100 million people tuned in to the watch the Super Bowl on Sunday – that’s almost four times the number of Americans who have received their first jab of a COVID-19 vaccine. While the world’s largest vaccination effort is not going 100% according to plan, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccination tracker shows that of the 59.3 ... READ MORE >
5 things to know this week in life sciences: Week of Jan. 11
In this week’s roundup, we take a look at life sciences fundraising totals from 2020, which was a record year for the industry in the capital markets. Silicon Valley Bank provides a detailed look at the numbers and provides insights into what to expect this year. Other news this week included Bluebird Bio’s announcement about splitting into two companies, ... READ MORE >
5 things to know this week in life sciences: Week of Jan. 4
Each year, pharma companies make updates to their price lists in January. This reliably generates headlines and, occasionally, congressional hearings. In this week’s industry roundup, we take a look at the recent price increases and how they compare to last year’s. We also look at the ongoing battle over 340B program discounts between pharma companies and ... READ MORE >
5 things to know this week in life sciences: Week of Dec. 21
With approval of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine last week for emergency use, many of us are looking forward to getting vaccinated with the hope that it will help us return to a more normal life. While looking forward, this is also a good time to reflect on the decades of work that laid the groundwork for this lightning fast vaccine development effort, as the ... READ MORE >
Biotech needs cash in hesitant market
Life science companies require a cash infusion at least twice as big as that of 2018 to fund research and development at a time when investors remain skittish, according to a Bloomberg analysis. The analysis suggests that over 100 biotech companies, including makers of oncology therapies and treatments for other life-threatening conditions, need to raise ... READ MORE >