Pharmafile.com’s top 10 news stories of the week
pharmafile | June 11, 2021 | News story | Medical Communications |
Among our ten most-read stories this week: AstraZeneca vs GSK: Cancer drug court battle could cost hundreds of millions; New NICE recommendation for Astellas prostate cancer drug; NICE release new guidance on rheumatoid arthritis treatment; elsewhere, the FDA has approved the first new Alzheimer’s drug in two decades.
1. AstraZeneca vs GSK: Cancer drug court battle could cost hundreds of millions – Published 07/06/21
AstraZeneca has launched a court case against Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK), in a claim that could reach hundreds of millions of pounds, over royalties of the cancer drug Zejula.
2. New NICE recommendation for Astellas prostate cancer drug – Published 08/06/21
A newly published Final Appraisal Determination by NICE has recommended Astellas’ Xtandi (enzalutamide) plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), as an option for treating hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer (mHSPC) in adults.
3. NICE release new guidance on rheumatoid arthritis treatment – Published 10/06/21
NICE has today published final draft guidance for the treatment of moderate rheumatoid arthritis in patients who have not responded to conventional therapies.
4. FDA approves first new Alzheimer’s drug in two decades – Published 08/06/21
Biogen’s controversial new drug, aducanumab, has been accepted by the FDA, making it the first Alzheimer’s drug to be approved in nearly 20 years.
5. Novartis’s 177Lu-PSMA-617 reduces prostate cancer death risk by 38% – Published 04/06/21
Novartis’s 177Lu-PSMA-617 has shown to significantly improve overall survival and radiographic progression-free survival for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in a Phase III trial.
6. MHRA approves venetoclax as acute myeloid leukemia treatment – Published 08/06/21
The MHRA has announced its approval for AbbVie’s venetoclax, in combination with a hypomethylating agent, for the treatment of newly diagnosed adults with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy.
7. Astronomy & cancer: Researchers join forces to study CUP – Published 06/06/21
Astronomers from Durham University have joined forces with cancer researchers to advance the diagnosis and treatment of cancer of unknown primary (CUP), following a grant from Innovate UK.
8. Phase III trial shows Olaparib reduces breast cancer recurrence by 42% – Published 04/06/21
Results from OlympiA’s Phase III trial has shown that its Olaparib (Lynparza) in the adjuvant treatment of patients with germline BRCA1/2 mutations and high-risk early breast cancer reduced the risk of cancer recurrence by 42%.
9. BMS announce new positive data from oesophageal cancer study – Published 04/06/21
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has announced results from the Phase III CheckMate -648 trial in which nivolumab plus chemotherapy and nivolumab plus ipilimumab, demonstrated a statistically significant overall survival (OS) benefit compared to chemotherapy in patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) with tumour cell PD-L1 expression ≥1%.
10. J&J’s Tremfya sees positive results for post-TNFi psoriatic arthritis – Published 04/06/21
Johnson & Johnson’s interleukin-23 (IL-23) Tremfya (guselkumab) has shown positive results in Phase IIIb trials, in post-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor-treated psoriatic arthritis (PsA) treatment.
