Mylan (NSDQ:MYL) CEO Heather Bresch reportedly accepted “full responsibility” for the company’s EpiPen price hikes that sparked outrage over the past 2 months, but defended the company’s actions while blaming an opaque industry that she said was not built for consumer engagement. The CEO made her remarks at the Forbes Healthcare Summit in New York on Thursday. “There are […]
Respiratory
Fisher & Paykel come out on top in German patent spat with ResMed
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (NZE:FPH) said last Friday that a German court overturned preliminary injunctions granted to ResMed (NYSE:RMD) in a patent infringement case filed in August. With the overturned injunction, Fisher & Paykel said it has resumed sales of its Simplus full face mask, Eson nasal mask and Eson 2, which San Diego-based ResMed claimed infringed […]
Actelion rejects J&J’s takeover offer
Swiss biotech firm Actelion Pharmaceuticals (VTX:ATLN) reportedly rejected Johnson & Johnson‘s (NYSE:JNJ) 2nd takeover offer, sending it shares down -6% in afternoon trading yesterday. The 2 companies have been engaged in informal talks for 2 months, according to Reuters, and the latest offer was pegged at 250 Swiss francs per share. J&J’s $270 billion bid for Actelion tempted shareholders, […]
Propeller inks deal with Italian spirometer maker
Propeller Health said today that it inked a collaborative deal with Medical International Research to integrate MIR’s mobile and clinical spirometers into the Propeller system. Spirometry, measuring lung function by how much air is inhaled and exhaled, can help provide a physiological measurement for disease progression in patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. […]
Windtree touts inhaled therapy for infants with respiratory distress syndrome
Windtree Therapeutics (NSDQ:WINT) today released data from a phase IIa trial evaluating its inhaled Aerosurf lucinactant designed for premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome. Results from the trial were presented at the 6th International Congress of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies in Valencia, Spain. Premature babies often lack adequate surfactant – a naturally occurring substance that reduces the surface […]
Researchers develop human lung model
(Reuters) – Czech scientists have developed a model of a functioning human lung that can be used to simulate problems like asthma or other chronic diseases and their treatments. The research group from the Brno University of Technology says its mechanical- and computer-based model of the lung can help devise treatment methods with more precision […]
J&J approaches Actelion
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is reportedly in preliminary discussions to buy Actelion Pharmaceuticals (VTX:ATLN) in a deal estimated to be as high as $247 (250 Swiss francs) per share, although the European biotech said there is no guarantee the deal will go through. J&J’s CEO Alex Gorsky said this year that the company is interested in deals […]
Mylan declines to testify at Senate committee hearing
Mylan (NDSQ:MYL) declined to testify at a U.S. Senate committee regarding its $465 million pending settlement to deal with charges that it underpaid government healthcare programs when it misclassified its EpiPen injector as a generic. The Canonsburg, Pa.-based company penned a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee Nov. 18, saying it would not testify because […]
GSK files for FDA approval of inhaled triple-combo therapy for COPD
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) and Innoviva (NSDQ:INVA) said today that GSK filed a regulatory submission with the FDA for the once-daily, closed triple combination therapy fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The triple-combo therapy includes 3 drugs: fluticasone furoate, an inhaled corticosteroid; umeclidinium, a long-acting muscarinic antagonist; vilanterol, a long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist. The medicines […]
Medtronic spinout Inspire Medical closes $38m Series F
Inspire Medical Systems, which spun out from Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) in 2007, said yesterday it closed a $37.5 million Series F financing round, as well as announcing the appointment of Marilyn Nelson to the board of directors. Inspire Medical developed and produces a sleep apnea implant, a pacemaker-like system designed to stimulate nerves to keep airways […]
Adherium touts Smartinhaler asthma study
Adherium (ASK:ADR) touted data from an independent study of its Smartinhaler respiratory disease management tool in children with poorly controlled asthma. The STAAR study was conducted at Sheffield Children’s Hospital in the UK and the results were published this month in Thorax. The New Zealand-based company found that in children with poorly controlled asthma, introducing its […]