The nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen has sent a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra “to express its outrage” over FDA’s recent approval of Biogen’s (NSDQ:BIIB) Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab (Aduhelm). Public Citizen concluded that the safety and efficacy profile for the drug was unfavorable and asked that Becerra install an FDA commissioner who would consider […]
CureVac’s interim vaccine efficacy is 47% in Phase 2b/3 study
Germany-based CureVac (NSDQ:CVAC) announced that its mRNA vaccine was 47% effective against COVID-19 in a second interim analysis of a pivotal study involving approximately 40,000 participants in 10 countries. The rise of COVID-19 variants played a role in the disappointing results. At least 13 COVID-19 variants were present in the study population who contracted the […]
Unraveling aducanumab’s impact remains a challenge
The FDA’s conditional approval of Biogen’s (NSDQ:BIIB) and Eisai’s (OTCMKTS:ESALY) Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab (Aduhelm) may have been controversial, but the decision will likely have a significant financial impact. There are 6 million people with Alzheimer’s in the U.S. alone, according to Alzheimer’s Association estimates. Approximately half of those patients have mild symptoms, which is the group most likely […]
Frequency Therapeutics faces growing legal challenges
Hearing loss drug developer Frequency Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FREQ) is the subject of a growing number of security fraud accusations on behalf of investors. Earlier this year, things were looking up for the company’s lead product candidate, FX-322. But on March 23, Frequency Therapeutics announced that interim results suggested that FX-322 was not effective at improving […]
Biden to promise world 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses
President Joe Biden has struck a deal with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) to provide 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to roughly 100 countries over two years. The two companies today confirmed the news, saying that the U.S. government will purchase at a not-for-profit price 200 million doses in 2021 and 300 million in early 2022. Doses […]
Meet the drugs and devices giving hope to millions of migraine patients
Up until recently, neurologists had relatively few tools at their disposal to help migraine patients. The treatment landscape for migraines has evolved considerably in recent years, according to Alexander Feoktistov, a neurologist at the Synergy Integrative Headache Center in Chicago. “I’ve been in this field of headache medicine for probably over 20 years now, and […]
Pfizer expands COVID-19 vaccine trial involving children under 12
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and its German partner BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) will proceed with a COVID-19 vaccine trial involving as many as 4,500 children. The trial will significantly reduce the 30-mg dose that adults and adolescents receive. Investigators will administer a 10-µg dose to children aged 5 to 11 and give those aged six months to five years […]
SEC lawsuit accuses RenovaCare of securities fraud
The biotech RenovaCare (OTCMKTS: RCAR) announced that it has received a civil complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC accuses Harmel S. Rayat, a controlling shareholder and chair of RenovaCare, of orchestrating a secret promotional campaign to elevate the company’s stock price. The agency claimed that Rayat and RenovaCare worked with the financial publishing […]
DoJ subpoenas Eli Lilly over bamlanivimab plant
In an SEC filing, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY.N) revealed that it had received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice connected to a manufacturing site in New Jersey that produces bamlanivimab, one of two COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies it produces. The plant also produces the blockbuster Trulicity and cancer drugs. Lilly did not state which types […]
10 of the best pharma companies to work for
The pharmaceutical industry is on the upswing and is poised to have a compound annual growth rate of 13.7% from 2020 to 2027, according to projections from Grand View Research. The industry’s resurgence is a good opportunity for employees in the sector, who frequently enjoy comfortable salaries. To get a sense of which pharmaceutical companies […]
COVID-19 lab-leak theory re-emerges as U.S. intelligence report surfaces
A previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report revealed that three scientists from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick enough in November 2019 to seek hospital care, according to the Wall Street Journal. The illnesses were consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses, but the report fuels speculation that the scientists at the Wuhan lab were among […]