Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
For Pfizer And Merck, Grips On Covid Antiviral Market May Be Loosening
FiercePharma: Shionogi's COVID-19 Antiviral Nabs Japanese Approval To Rival Drugs From Pfizer, Merck
As the fight against COVID-19 rolls on, regulators in Japan have bestowed a green light on the country's first homegrown antiviral. (Kansteiner, 11/22)
Stat: GSK To Withdraw Blood Cancer Drug From U.S. Market
British pharma giant GSK said Tuesday that it will withdraw its blood cancer drug Blenrep from the U.S. market, following a request from the Food and Drug Administration. Blenrep’s removal is another sign that U.S. regulators are taking a more aggressive stance toward cancer drugs approved based on preliminary evidence of efficacy. (Feuerstein, 11/22)
Reuters: Generic Drugmakers Teva And Sandoz Make Major Push To Biosimilars
Generic drug makers Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Sandoz say they are planning a significant ramp-up in production of biosimilars – copies of high-priced drugs used to treat illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer – aiming to increase their share of an expanding market. More than 55 brand-name blockbuster biologic drugs, each with peak annual sales above $1 billion, are due to come off patent by the end of the decade, according to industry estimates. (Grover and Scheer, 11/22)
FiercePharma: 'Monopoly' Allowed Bristol Myers And Generics Makers To 'Steal' From Revlimid Purchasers, Lawsuit Says
The courtroom drama surrounding Bristol Myers Squibb and its subsidiary Celgene over their efforts to restrict competition for lymphoma drug Revlimid has raged for more than a decade. (Dunleavy, 11/22)
FiercePharma: Merck's Keytruda Chalks Up Stomach Cancer Trial Win
Years after Merck & Co.'s Keytruda failed to move the needle in newly diagnosed stomach cancer bearing the PD-L1 biomarker, the company has come back with a win, this time for tumors regardless of PD-L1 expression. (Becker, 11/22)
ScienceDaily: Discovery Suggests New Way To Target Mantle Cell Lymphoma
A form of blood cancer known as mantle cell lymphoma is critically dependent on a protein that coordinates gene expression, such that blocking its activity with an experimental drug dramatically slows the growth of this lymphoma in preclinical tests, according to a study from Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. (Weill Cornell Medicine, 11/22)
Also —
Stat: One-Third Of US Labs No Longer Use Race To Diagnose Kidney Disease
Even as a child, La’Tonzia Adams was interested in diagnosing disease. One day, when she noticed a bump on her chest, she decided to look up “chicken pox” in the Webster’s dictionary at her grandmother’s house to figure out if her symptoms matched the illness. (Trang, 11/22)
