QPS, a contract research organization (CRO), continues to expand its global footprint with new clinics in the Netherlands and India and a new bioanalytical facility in China. QPS Netherlands recently celebrated the grand opening of a second clinic, which is…
Lundbeck buys into migraine, acquiring Alder for $2B
Dive Brief: Danish drugmaker Lundbeck will acquire Alder BioPharmaceuticals for $1.95 billion, adding a late-stage migraine treatment to its pipeline via a buyout deal the companies announced Monday. Alder, a small biopharma headquartered in Bothell, Washington, is essentially a one-drug…
Heart-burn for pharma firms: After Valsartan, FDA red-flags Ranitidine for cancer-causing impurity
All eyes on DCGI to see if it echoes the alert, since over 180 variants sell in India First, the alarm was sounded for the presence of a “probable” cancer-causing substance in Valsartan, used to treat blood pressure and heart…
Novotech highlights South Korea’s plans on clinical trials advancements
About 600 industry-sponsored trials were initiated in South Korea in the last 12 months. Asia-Pacific specialist CRO Novotech has welcomed the South Korean Comprehensive Five-year Plan for the Advancement of Clinical Trials aimed at further establishing the country as a…
Unions call on US antitrust regulators to block $63 billion ‘AbbVieGan’ merger
US antitrust authorities are coming under pressure from consumer groups and unions to block the proposed $63 billion merger of AbbVie and Allergan, according to a press report. Reuters reported that around a dozen advocacy groups and unions, including the…
IQVIA launches UK cancer database amid survival rate concern
As figures show the UK continues to lag behind other developed countries in cancer survival, a new project aims to create a national database with ambitious goals to challenge the variation in care standards in the NHS and encourage clinical…
Many clinical trials for new cancer drugs didn’t include any data on race
One-third of the clinical trials that led to new cancer drugs approved between 2008 and 2018 didn’t report on the race of trial participants — and even studies that did report on race often had far fewer black and Hispanic…
Biogen and Eisai Abandon BACE Inhibitor Program in Alzheimer’s Disease
In March 2019, Cambridge, Mass-based Biogen and its collaboration partner, Tokyo-based Eisai, discontinued their global Phase III clinical trials, ENGAGE and EMERGE, of aducanumab in Alzheimer’s patients. Biogen also ended iys EVOLVE Phase II trial and long-term extension PRIME Phase…
From Mentor to Sponsor: Enlisting Others to Help Boost Your Life Sciences Career
In the second decade of the 21st century, the concept of mentoring has expanded and gained greater importance for job-seekers and careerists. A 2010 study by the Catalyst organization found that mentoring is important but insufficient for career advancement. Career…
Enough with the me-too drugs. New treatments should be worthy of the people who invest their lives in clinical trials
Like many people starting out in the biotech industry, I wanted to make an impact on people’s lives by developing life-changing therapies. But I’ve become disappointed by what I believe are too many companies pushing mediocre and me-too drugs, also…
