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Daewoong Pharmaceutical said on October 17 that it met with Saudi Arabian government officials to discuss a range of cooperation plans for the biopharmaceutical industry. The delegation from Saudi Arabia visited Daewoong’s Seoul Samsung-dong headquarters, including Deputy Minister Khalid Al-Buraikan of the Ministry of Health and Sara Aref, Director of Strategic Cooperation. During the meeting, both sides shared assessments of Saudi Arabia’s pharmaceutical and biotech sectors and explored potential partnerships leveraging Daewoong’s new drug development capabilities and global market experience. Representatives from South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute also attended to discuss bilateral industry collaboration measures. Saudi Arabia, the largest pharmaceutical market in the Middle East with an estimated value of about $13 billion, is projected to grow to roughly $19 billion by 2030. The Saudi government is prioritizing expansion of biomanufacturing infrastructure and pharmaceutical self-sufficiency as part of its national strategy. Daewoong has already launched its high purity botulinum toxin product Nabota in the Saudi market in January and is pursuing entry for other products such as the gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment Pexuclu and the diabetes therapy Envlo. Discussions with Saudi officials covered a broad spectrum of cooperation beyond product launches, including local...

The chair of Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk and six other independent board members will step down next month after a dispute over strategy with the drugmaker's controlling shareholder, the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The company said on Tuesday that Helge Lund and the other independent directors would step down at an extraordinary shareholder meeting on November 14. The Foundation said it would propose Lars Rebien Sorensen, a former Novo CEO and current chair of the Foundation, as temporary chairman of the drugmaker for two to three years. Novo ousted CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen in May over concerns that the company is losing its first-mover advantage in the highly competitive obesity drug market. His replacement has launched a restructuring drive, including 9,000 job cuts. "Given the rapidly changing environment in which Novo Nordisk operates, we believe it is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders to carry out a board renewal as soon as possible, rather than waiting until the annual general meeting in March next year," Sorensen said in a statement. In a separate statement, Lund said it had "not been possible to reach a common understanding" with the Foundation. "The Board proposed a renewal focusing on the addition of select, new competencies...

-China’s Innovent Biologics said on Wednesday it had signed an $11.4 billion deal with Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co to accelerate the development of its immuno-oncology and antibody-drug conjugate cancer therapies. Under the agreement, Innovent is set to receive a $1.2 billion upfront payment from a unit of Takeda. It is also eligible for potential milestone payments totalling up to $10.2 billion, bringing the total deal value to $11.4 billion. The Takeda unit has also agreed to invest $100 million in the Chinese innovative medicines developer and producer through a subscription, wherein Innovent will issue shares at a price of HK$112.56 apiece. The collaboration also aims to explore and maximise the potential of Innovent’s late-stage investigational medicine for non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer.

Merck said on Monday it has begun construction of a $3 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Elkton, Virginia as part of its more than $70 billion investment to expand domestic manufacturing and research and development in the U.S. The U.S. drugmaker said it plans to invest an additional $3 billion in biologics and small molecule manufacturing sites and capabilities in the U.S., while also investing more than $3.5 billion at its headquarters in Rahway, N.J. Global drugmakers have been scrambling to shore up their U.S. manufacturing capacities and domestic inventories after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on imports of branded and patented drugs. Merck had previously said it will invest $1 billion in a new Delaware plant to make biologics and cancer drug Keytruda, to boost U.S. production and potentially create over 4,500 jobs. It also opened a $1-billion facility at its North Carolina site in March.

AbbVie (ABBV.N), opens new tab said on Monday its newer arthritis drug Rinvoq showed superiority over the company's previous bestseller Humira in a head-to-head . AbbVie has been banking on its newer immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq to counter the drop in Humira sales due to a loss of exclusivity and competition from cheaper biosimilars. Humira generated peak global sales of more than $21 billion in 2022 before it lost patent exclusivity in the U.S. The study tested the two drugs in 492 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. About 43.3% of patients receiving Rinvoq saw an improvement in their condition compared with 22.4% of patients on Humira, meeting the main goal of the trial. The drug also met the trial's secondary goal, with 28.4% of patients on Rinvoq showing no visible signs or symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis compared with 14.5% of patients on Humira. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks joints, creating inflammation that causes the tissue inside the joints to thicken, damaging the bones. The condition affects more than 17 million people worldwide, according to AbbVie. The patients in the trial had been receiving methotrexate, which is commonly used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. "These positive results strengthen the...

Pelage Pharmaceuticals said on Wednesday it had closed a $120 million funding round to help advance the development of its novel hair loss treatment. The Series B financing round was co-led by ARCH Venture Partners and Google Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Main Street Advisors, Visionary Ventures and YK Bioventures. Pelage declined to share its valuation. The financing will help the company begin multiple late-stage trials and grow its headcount necessary to conduct larger-scale studies, Chief Medical Officer Christina Weng said. The company plans to begin late-stage trials next year to test its lead experimental program, PP405, which is a non-invasive topical therapy designed to reactivate dormant hair follicle stem cells and restart hair growth in men and women. "The science is a strong differentiator in terms of the mechanism of PP405. It's a regenerative medicine approach that targets the hair follicle stem cells and really addresses the root cause of hair loss, rather than currently available treatments which target secondary drivers like hormones," Weng said. There are currently two FDA-approved drugs for androgenetic alopecia or pattern hair loss - minoxidil and finasteride. Only minoxidil is approved for use in women. In a mid-stage trial, which enrolled 78 men and women with androgenetic alopecia,...

Gilead Sciences' Trodelvy lowered the risk of disease progression in an aggressive type of breast cancer by 38% when used as an initial treatment, according to trial results presented on Sunday. The trial compared Trodelvy to a standard treatment of chemotherapy in 558 previously untreated patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer, or TNBC, whose tumors don't express the PD-L1 protein — targeted by immune system checkpoint inhibitors such as Keytruda. The drug received its first U.S. approval in 2020 for the treatment of advanced TNBC in patients who had received at least two prior therapies. TNBC is an aggressive type of invasive breast cancer that tends to grow and spread faster, has fewer treatment options and tends to have a worse prognosis. It accounts for about 10% to 15% of all breast cancers. Antibody-drug conjugates such as Trodelvy are designed to deliver an anti-cancer drug more precisely to malignant cells, causing less damage to healthy cells than chemotherapy. During the trial, patients on Gilead's drug went for a median period of 9.7 months without their cancer progressing, a measure known as progression-free survival, compared to 6.9 months for those on chemotherapy. The trial's initial results were shared in May. The latest findings were shared at...

The standing ovation for Keytruda and Padcev in metastatic bladder cancer at the 2023 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress still echoes, and, now, the pair from Merck & Co., Pfizer and Astellas has pulled off similarly showstopping results in certain patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). The combination of Merck’s Keytruda and Pfizer and Astellas’ Padcev reduced patients' risk of death by a whopping 50% when used before and after bladder removal surgery in those with MIBC who are not eligible for or declined cisplatin-based chemotherapy compared with surgery alone, according to results to be presented at the 2025 ESMO Congress. The PD-1/antibody-drug conjugate combo also significantly improved event-free survival (EFS) by 60% versus surgery alone. A negative event includes progression of disease that precludes surgery or failure to undergo surgery, gross residual disease left behind during surgery, cancer recurrence or death.

AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s star drug Enhertu has delivered a double knockout, showing its ability to stave off early breast cancer in two pivotal clinical trials. First, in another major head-to-head win against Roche’s rival antibody-drug conjugate Kadcyla, Enhertu significantly pared down the risk of invasive disease recurrence or death by 53% when used as an adjuvant therapy after surgery in HER2-positive early breast cancer. The patients had residual invasive disease following neoadjuvant treatment and are considered at high risk of recurrence. At the time of the analysis, 12.5% of patients who got Kadcyla have developed invasive disease or died, versus 6.2% among Enhertu takers. The data, from the Destiny-Breast05 study, will be presented during a presidential symposium at the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), opens new tab has appointed U.S. pharmaceutical executive Greg Miley as its new head of corporate affairs, as the obesity drugmaker faces growing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on drug pricing. Miley recently served as senior vice president of government affairs at U.S. pharmaceutical giant AbbVie (ABBV.N), opens new tab. He posted a statement on LinkedIn on Friday and Novo Nordisk shared the statement with Reuters. Novo is turning to an American executive with deep U.S. pharmaceutical experience to help navigate political risks under the Trump administration in the United States, its largest market. NEW HIRE TO FOCUS ON RELATIONS WITH TRUMP ADMINISTRATION The appointment comes as new CEO Mike Doustdar tries to revive investor confidence through a restructuring to sharpen Novo's focus in a fierce obesity drug battle against U.S. rival Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab. The overhaul includes cutting 9,000 jobs, with 5,000 positions being eliminated in Denmark and layoffs underway across multiple U.S. departments. "In this new role, I see great potential to strengthen our Global Communication and Public Affairs efforts," Miley wrote on LinkedIn, adding that he would begin his new role next month and would relocate to Denmark, Novo's home market. Miley's urgent priority will...