Ireland-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc is to expand its presence in neuroscience with the acquisition of GW Pharmaceuticals Inc which has pioneered the development and commercialisation of medicines derived from cannabinoids. The transaction is valued at $7.2 billion, or $6.7 billion net of GW Pharma’s cash.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc reported a 1% increase in turnover to £34 billion in 2020 as gains for its vaccines and newer respiratory medicines were partially offset by generic competition for legacy products. However cost controls and asset disposals contributed to a 12% rise in operating profit to £7.78 billion giving an operating margin of 22.8%.
Briefing journalists on 3 February, Emma Walmsley, the chief executive, said the coming year will see the company progress candidate Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics with partners, and prepare for a major corporate restructuring in 2022.
A primary analysis of trial data from a vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University shows that the product is safe and effective at preventing Covid-19 with no severe cases of the disease or hospitalisations more than 22 days after the first dose. The data were contained in a preprint edition of The Lancet which was issued on 3 February 2021.
Verona Pharma Plc has reported further positive data for its drug ensifentrine for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In a Phase 2 trial of patients with moderate to severe disease, the drug achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful increase in lung function compared with a placebo. The trial was evaluating ensifentrine in a pressurised metered-dose inhaler formulation.
A joint venture cell and gene therapy company set up by UK-based Avacta Group Plc and South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co Ltd has closed a Series A financing of $7.3 million to further develop its pipeline of advanced therapies. The venture, AffyXell Therapeutics, was established in 2020 and is located in South Korea.
A Phase 3 trial designed to find out if adding ipilimumab (Yervoy) to Keytruda would improve the outlook for patients with non-small cell lung cancer has failed. As a result, Keytruda (pembrolizumab) monotherapy is still the better option for treating the disease, according to Merck & Co Inc.
Ofatumumab, a monoclonal antibody originally developed for cancer, is being recommended to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. The European Medicines Agency has given the drug a positive review based on data from two Phase 3 studies which showed that it is superior to teriflunomide (Aubagio), a marketed multiple sclerosis treatment.
A coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc was approved by the European Commission on 29 January, only hours after the European Medicines Agency gave the product a positive opinion. The approval is the third for a Covid-19 vaccine in the EU. The other two are vaccines developed by Moderna Inc, approved on 6 January, and a vaccine developed by BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc, approved on 21 December 2020. Authorisation of the AstraZeneca vaccine was based on data showing an efficacy rate of around 60%.
Johnson & Johnson Inc said that its single-shot vaccine against Covid-19 was 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe disease following a Phase 3 trial that included participants from the US, South Africa and countries in Latin America.
Novavax Inc has reported that its protein-based Covid-19 vaccine achieved an efficacy rate of 89.3% in a Phase 3 trial conducted in the UK, even as a new strain of the virus was circulating in that country. Meanwhile, a separate Phase 2b study of the same vaccine achieved a 60% efficacy rate in South Africa in a study population that was HIV-negative. For the overall trial population, including those with and without HIV, the efficacy rate was 49.4%.