Phillips-Medisize said today that it plans to open an 80,000 square foot drug delivery manufacturing facility at its Menomonie, Wisconsin campus. The facility, which is expected to open in 2017, will manufacture high volume, prefilled drug delivery systems. It will employ at least 100 people, the company said, and is funded by the signing of […]
Pharmaceutical
Adherium’s smart inhaler tech chosen for EU mobile health program
Adherium Ltd. (ASK:ADR) said today that its Smartinhaler was chosen for the myAirCoach program as a part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework for Research and Innovation. The Horizon 2020 program is the largest EU research and innovation program ever established, with €80 billion (nearly $85 billion) of funding available from 2014 until 2020. The […]
Flexion seeks FDA nod for osteoarthritis steroid injection
Flexion Therapeutics (NSDQ:FLXN) said today that it submitted a new drug application to the FDA for its extended-release steroid injection Zilretta. The Burlington, Mass.-based company won Fast Track status from the watchdog for its osteoarthritis injection last year. The new drug application is based on data from a pivotal phase III clinical trial evaluating Zilretta in […]
Federal watchdog to investigate CMS drug rebate program
The Office of the Inspector General of the Health and Human Services Departments said last week that it will begin investigating whether the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services properly monitors its Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. The investigation comes after CMS reported that Mylan (NSDQ:MYL) underpaid Medicaid by not paying appropriate rebates. The Canonsburg, Penn.-based company said […]
Vapogenix closes $8.2m Series C for topical painkiller
Vapogenix Inc. said yesterday that it raised $8.2 million in a Series C financing round to fund the development of its locally-acting painkiller. Pamoja Capital and a group of pain physicians led the round. The Houston, Texas-based company’s technology is a topical formulation of volatile anesthetics, which are normally inhaled as general anesthesia. Vapogenix has developed […]
Mylan, Allergan launch fight over Restasis eye drop patents
Allergan (NYSE:AGN) said this week that it will “vigorously defend” the patents for its Restasis eye drops, after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board agreed to an inter partes review of 6 patents as requested by generic competitor Mylan (NSDQ:MYL). The patents are valid until August 2024. “Allergan is disappointed in […]
AngioSoma taps new CEO
AngioSoma (OTCQB:SOAN) said today that it named Ken Stephenson to the Montgomery, Texas-based company’s corner office. Alexanderia Blankenship will now serve as chief operating officer and executive VP. Stephenson has worked with hospitals, health insurance organizations and physician’s offices throughout Texas, according to the company. He previously helped set up practices for interventional radiologists and […]
CMS pinpoints cost-driving drugs in newly released data
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released 5 years of pricing data for a list of more than 5,000 drugs this week. The data illustrate that a handful of cost-driving drugs experienced price hikes in 2015, which cost taxpayers millions in added Medicare spending. The price of some drugs went up almost 500%, with name-brand […]
H&T Presspart, Cohero Health launch connected metered-dose inhaler
H&T Presspart and Cohero Health said today that the companies have launched a connected metered-dose inhaler designed to improve adherence and optimize care for patients with asthma and COPD. It is the 1st connected inhaler integrated with Cohero Health’s BreatheSmart comprehensive respiratory disease management platform. The 2 companies developed the metered-dose inhaler over the course […]
BioDelivery reacquires license to buprenorphine film
BioDelivery Sciences International (NSDQ:BDSI) said today that it reacquired the license to the Belbuca (buprenorphine) buccal film from Endo Pharmaceuticals. Malvern, Penn-based Endo Pharmaceuticals licensed the worldwide manufacturing and marketing rights to the opioid patch from BioDelivery in 2012. Belbuca, a once-daily opioid, is indicated for the management of severe pain. The small, peppermint-flavored film works by […]
PellePharm announces launch to develop topical gel for basal cell carcinoma
PellePharm announced its launch today, with financing from BridgeBio Pharma. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company is developing a topical gel to treat basal cell carcinoma, including the tumors that result from Gorlin syndrome. The company’s topical inhibitor compound, patidegib, acts on the hedgehog pathway – a signaling pathway that transmits cellular information for adult tissue […]