Australian PBS makes drug listing changes

The removal of a lower-dose version of a drug with years of patent-protected sales remaining in favor of a higher dose, lower-pill count version was billed as a convenience enhancement for patients. Payers, however, do not reimburse convenience.

As its biggest seller Entresto succumbs to generic competition.

Novartis is acquiring Tourmaline Bio for $1.4bn to gain pacibekitug, a promising IL-6 inhibitor for cardiovascular disease, setting up a direct rivalry with Novo Nordisk’s ziltivekimab.

Deal Snapshot: Hengrui makes its third potential billion-dollar licensing deal of 2025, this time sending rights to Phase III hypertrophic cardiomyopathy drug HRS-1893 to Braveheart.