Machine-learning-driven drug discovery and development company Insitro announced today that it raised $143 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round. San Francisco-based Insitro said in a news release that it plans to use the funds to build its foundations of technology and automation, enabling data generation at a larger scale, expanding its capabilities for […]
Gilead licenses remdesivir production to 5 generic drugmakers
Gilead Sciences’ (NSDQ:GILD) said Tuesday that it has signed licensing agreements with five generic pharmaceutical manufacturers based in India and Pakistan to further expand supply of remdesivir, the experimental drug being used in the U.S. to treat COVID-19. The non-exclusive, voluntary agreements allow the companies — Mylan (NSDQ:MYL), Cipla, Ferozsons Laboratories, Hetero Labs and Jubilant Lifesciences — […]
BREAKING: FDA grants emergency use of drug to treat COVID-19
The FDA this afternoon issued an emergency use authorization for the investigational antiviral drug remdesivir to treat severely ill COVID-19 patients. The authorization for the drug, made by Gilead Sciences’ (NSDQ:GILD), will allow both adults and children to be treated with the remdesivir, the first drug believed to have any effect on the virus that has […]
Fauci: Hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses could be ready in January
Dr. Anthony Fauci said this morning that hundreds of millions of doses of a vaccine for COVID-19 could be ready by January. In an interview on the Today Show, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that a vaccine candidate is in the first phase of a clinical trial. If […]
Here are the pharma companies accused of blocking generic competition
To prove a generic drug is as safe and effective as the branded version, pharmaceutical companies have to hand over upwards of 1,000 doses of the product to a generic developer. But if the manufacturer creating the generic drug cannot get its hands on enough sample, the development and testing process slows down. It could […]
Gilead inks $90m deal with Verily to create “molecular map” of inflammatory disease
Gilead Sciences (NSDQ:GILD) is reportedly slated to pay Alphabet’s Verily Life Sciences $90 million over three years to analyze cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and lupus-related diseases. By probing immune cells from patients involved in Gilead’s clinical trials, the companies hope to glean a better understanding of the immunological signatures of RA, IBD and […]
This company helps cell therapies travel around the world
With Gilead Sciences (NSDQ:GILD) and Novartis (NYSE:NVS) leading the way, cell therapies are moving on to the market and into the clinics for patients that have no other option. Companies making CAR-T therapies use a patient’s own cells to genetically engineer a cancer-killing cellular therapy that is then delivered back to the patient. We are so grateful that we […]
Kite wins FDA approval for first adult CAR-T cell therapy
More than a month before it was due to make a decision, the FDA yesterday approved a CAR-T cell therapy from Kite Pharma (NSDQ:KITE) – the first of its kind for adults. The therapy, which is made from a patient’s own cells, is designed to treat adults with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who have failed at least two other […]
How etectRx’s “smart pill” aims to improve patient compliance trends
When Harry Travis first met Neil Euliano and learned about his medication adherence technology, the pharmaceutical industry was beginning to usher in the age of pricey drugs with Hepatitis C therapies that hit the market at prices like $500 or $1,000 dollars a pill. “It just so happened at the time, really expensive medications were […]
Gilead expands into cell therapy with $11.9B Kite Pharma purchase
Taking a plunge into the cell therapy arena, Gilead Sciences (NSDQ:GILD) said today that it has inked an $11.9 billion deal to acquire Kite Pharma (NSDQ:KITE). The deal, which was unanimously approved by both companies’ boards, is slated to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Gilead said it plans to pay $180 in cash for each Kite […]
Leukemia trial to match patients with drugs based on genetic biomarkers
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society said today that its expanding its Beat AML Master trial to include five investigational treatments for acute myeloid leukemia. The trial, which launched in October last year, has enrolled 70 patients and has garnered support by Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:ALXN), Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene (NSDQ:CELG) and Gilead Sciences (NSDQ:GILD), all of which are providing investigational AML treatments. The non-profit […]
