Shares of Moderna jumped nearly 11% from the moment the bell rung this morning following its announcement that it received regulatory permission to begin a Phase II study of its mRNA vaccine candidate for COVID-19. In a brief announcement this…
FDA Gives Novartis Approval for First-Ever Therapy for NSCLC Tumors with METex14
The first treatment for adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who also have a specific genetic mutation was approved Wednesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Developed by Novartis, the drug, Tabrecta™ (capmatinib), is designed…
Pfizer/BioNTech dose first US patients with COVID-19 vaccine
Pfizer and its development partner BioNTech have begun dosing the first people in the US with a potential COVID-19 vaccine, as part of their ongoing phase 1/2 clinical trial. The companies said that the first participants were dosed at the NYU Grossman School of…
FDA Approves AstraZeneca’s Farxiga for Heart Failure in Adults with Reduced Ejection Fraction
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Tuesday that it has approved dapagliflozin, also known under the brand name Farxiga, for the treatment of heart failure in adults with reduced ejection fraction. The drug can potentially reduce the…
Alexion Set to Acquire Portola Pharmaceuticals in $1.41 Billion Deal
Shares of Portola Pharmaceuticals more than doubled in premarket trading on news that Boston-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals is acquiring the company and its blood-disorder assets for $1.41 billion in cash. Alexion said the acquisition of Portola will bolster its commercial portfolio…
Hepatitis drug could be tested against COVID-19 in India
India’s Zydus Cadila wants to test a form of interferon, usually used against hepatitis B and C, as a potential treatment for the virus that causes COVID-19. According to press reports the company has asked the regulator, the Drugs Controller General…
BerGenBio raises 45 million euros for COVID-19 drug development
Norway’s BerGenBio has raised 500 million Norwegian kroner – around $45.4 million euros – in an oversubscribed private placement to develop its pipeline that includes a potential COVID-19 therapy. As reported by pharmaphorum last week, BerGenBio’s bemcentinib is the first drug to be tested in a UK…
Smartphone UTI test available at home during COVID-19 lockdown
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Healthy.io has launched a smartphone-based diagnostic for urinary tract infections available to women at home, without a trip to the doctor or pharmacist. The new service comes amid concerns that some people are deciding to stay…
First doses of Gilead’s COVID-19 drug remdesivir to arrive at US hospitals
The first doses of Gilead’s COVID-19 drug remdesivir are set to arrive in US hospitals this week after the FDA said the medicine can be used to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Although remdesivir is yet to be formally reviewed by the FDA, the…
Lockdown sparks global yoga craze, digital health survey shows
Digital health firm Withings has used its technology to produce a read-out of how COVID-19 lockdowns have affected the health of its users, showing a smaller than expected increase in weight, a global yoga craze and an increase in exercise in some areas…
