Vaccines

Kostaive is the first self-amplifying mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to receive approval from the European Commission and could provide serious competition to Pfizer/BioNTech's Comirnaty and Moderna's Spikevax.

Taking a broad view of big pharma share price movements as the sector reported 2024 financials, company-specific issues were complicated by geopolitical factors including Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said it was “fake news” to describe the UK as the worst place in the western world for pharma companies to invest and blamed the decision to pull plans for a new £450m vaccines facility near Liverpool on it simply not being economically viable without more government support.

A combination of heightened competition, destocking at vaccination clinics and a slowing economy resulted in a disappointing year for major Chinese vaccine companies.

As rival Bavarian Nordic closes in on US approval for its chikungunya vaccine for people aged 12 and older, the French biotech has presented positive data for its already-approved jab Ixchiq in adolescents and children.

A week after a downbeat forecast at J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, the US mRNA specialist has pocketed another sizeable sum from the US Department of Health and Human Services to accelerate development of an H5N1 mRNA pandemic influenza vaccine.

Following promising Phase II data presented at ASH on the company's allogenic leukemia-derived dendritic cell vaccine, Mendus has secured support from the FDA and the EMA for pivotal studies starting later this year.

Faced with going out of business after repeated Phase II fails in a variety of tumor types for its investigational universal cancer vaccine, Norway’s Ultimovacs has been saved by compatriot Zelluna.

Recent and upcoming US FDA advisory committee meetings and a summary of the topics covered.

The Norwegian biotech is losing a big pharma partner and up to half of its staff, but remains confident about the prospects for its personalized cancer vaccine programs.