Industry News

AstraZeneca announced that it has entered into an agreement with ProStrakan Group, a subsidiary of Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. Ltd., for the rights to Moventig (naloxegol) in the European Union (EU), Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Moventig is the first once-daily, oral peripherally-acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist (PAMORA) approved in Europe for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in adult patients who have had an inadequate response to laxative(s).

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. Announced that BMN 270, an investigational gene therapy for the treatment of patients with hemophilia A, has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). BioMarin is currently conducting a Phase 1/2 study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of BMN 270 gene therapy in up to 12 patients with severe hemophilia A and will provide a program update in April.  BMN 270 is an AAV 5 factor VIII vector, designed to restore factor VIII plasma concentrations, essential for blood clotting in patients with hemophilia A.

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Edwards Lifesciences Corporation announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to expand use of the Edwards SAPIEN XT transcatheter heart valve for pulmonic valve replacement procedures.

Roche announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Gazyva® (obinutuzumab) plus bendamustine chemotherapy followed by Gazyva alone as a new treatment for people with follicular lymphoma who did not respond to a Rituxan® (rituximab)-containing regimen, or had their follicular lymphoma return after such treatment. Follicular lymphoma is the most common type of indolent (slow-growing) non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and accounts for approximately one in five cases of NHL.

Abeona Therapeutics, Inc. announced the FDA cleared the Company's Investigational New Drug Application for ABO-102 (AAV- SGSH), a single treatment strategy for Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IIIA (MPS IIIA). The ABO-102 IND application is now active and enables Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus, OH) to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical study designed to assess the safety, tolerability and potential efficacy of ABO-102 in children with MPS IIII A.

Amgen announced the submission of a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for BLINCYTO® (blinatumomab) to include new data supporting the treatment of pediatric and adolescent patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph-) relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). BLINCYTO, the first-and-only FDA-approved bispecific CD19-directed CD3 T cell engager (BiTE®) immunotherapy, is currently available under an accelerated approval in the U.S. for the treatment of Ph- relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor ALL, a rare and rapidly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow impacting both adults and children.

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Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for voclosporin, the Company’s next generation calcineurin inhibitor, for the treatment of Lupus Nephritis (LN).

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Odefsey® (emtricitabine 200 mg/rilpivirine 25 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg or R/F/TAF) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in certain patients. Emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide are from Gilead Sciences and rilpivirine is from Janssen Sciences Ireland UC, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen). Odefsey is Gilead’s second TAF-based regimen to receive FDA approval and represents the smallest pill of any single tablet regimen for the treatment of HIV.

Software major Infosys on Tuesday announced tying up with Microsoft to offer healthcare analytics, using the latter's cloud platform.