Respiratory
Ohtuvayre is off to a great start in the US but Verona's new owner MSD has pulled the file from the EMA for the closely-watched chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drug.
Boehringer’s PDE4B inhibitor Jascayd was approved for IPF in China on Oct. 22, marking its second nod globally soon after the US. The German firm discusses with Scrip the opportunities and challenges in this market.
The departing CEO announced improved full-year sales and profit forecasts before handing over to Luke Miels in January; he will then have to deliver on GSK’s upgraded forecast of £40bn revenues in 2031.
Its licensing deal with Empirico for EMP-012 opens up the potential to treat a broader range of COPD patients compared with existing therapies.
The PDE4B inhibitor brings a new mechanism of action to the challenging respiratory disease and is the first drug approved for the indication in more than a decade.
Doors open at £150m vaccine facility which forms part of a £1bn investment in the country on the part of Moderna, as other firms head for the exit.
AstraZeneca’s IL-5 blocker has again missed in COPD, adding to a number of disappointments for biologics in this disease. Complex biology and overlapping inflammatory pathways seem to be at the heart of the problem.
The company announced positive topline Phase III results for the first of a series of Phase III studies of the drug in inadequately controlled disease.
The company reported that the Phase III EFZO-FIT trial in pulmonary sarcoidosis did not meet the primary endpoint, but showed improvement on a secondary endpoint.
The company announced positive results from the first of two Phase III studies that will serve as the basis for the inhaled drug’s potential approval in IPF.
Deupirfenidone hit its Phase II endpoint but the program remains risky and PureTech’s new Celea Therapeutics will aim to pull in extra funding for its late-stage development.
SEC filings reveal that Merck was the sole bidder for Verona and its COPD drug Ohtuvayre, with the final $10bn deal wrapped up within a month.
GSK is sticking to its guns on its forecasts for Blenrep and the firm’s total sales in 2031 despite concerns about the antibody-drug conjugate’s approvability in the US.
Deal Snapshot: The addition of Hengrui's HRS-9821, a China-originated fast-follower of Verona’s Ohtuvayre in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, should enable GSK’s COPD therapy portfolio to stack up well against increasing competitors in the indication, including biologics and small molecules.
The privately held German pharma firm is hoping to bring a new generation of pulmonary fibrosis and cancer drugs to market but their commercial success is not yet a certainty.
The Phase III failure could dent Roche’s hopes of entering the COPD market with its novel therapy, despite its success in a large Phase IIb trial. It also marks another disappointment for the anti-IL33/ST2 approach.
Looking to improve on the efficacy and safety of Roche’s Esbriet and BI’s Ofev, Avalyn has inhalable formulations of those drugs in Phase IIb and Phase I, respectively.
The French major is paying $1.15bn For the UK biotech and its bivalent candidate, VXB-241.
Bharatt Chowrira departs days after firm’s chair stepped down.
With the $10bn acquisition of Verona, Merck gains the marketed COPD drug Ohtuvayre, reentering respiratory, where it was once a leader with Singulair.