Express Scripts Holding Co, the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the United States, said prescription drug spending for its members slowed to less than 4 percent in 2016, at a time when scrutiny of drug price hikes has intensified. More »
Novo Nordisk, the world’s top maker of diabetes drugs, is investing 115 million pounds ($145 million) in a new research center in Britain, undeterred by Brexit. More »
Investors pulled cash from stock funds and bought government bonds during the latest week, favoring a defensive stance over the risk-trading spectacle that has followed the presidential election, Lipper data for U.S.-based funds showed on Thursday. More »
Two babies rescued from previously incurable leukemia after receiving infusions of gene-edited immune cells are doing well at home more than a year after initial treatment, scientists said on Wednesday. More »
An Australian zookeeper on Tuesday urged people to catch and donate deadly funnel-web spiders, to help replenish stocks of antidote running low after a spate of spider bites. More »
Actelion’s Opsumit drug missed a primary endpoint in a late-stage study of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension due to Eisenmenger Syndrome, a doctor involved in the trial said in a statement from the Swiss drugmaker. More »
Merck & Co said it agreed to enter into a settlement and license agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Ono Pharmaceutical Co Ltd to resolve all global patent-infringement litigation related to its cancer drug, Keytruda. More »
Logos of Japanese Takeda Pharmaceutical Co are seen at an office building in Glattbrugg near Zurich March 7, 2012. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo – RTX2RH16 Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co (4502.T) flagged its appetite for fresh acquisitions to bolster its ... More »
An Amgen sign is seen at the company’s office in South San Francisco, California October 21, 2013. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive Len Schleifer on Monday ripped into Amgen Inc for its insistence on blocking sales of a rival ... More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Egalet Corp’s long-acting opioid painkiller, Arymo ER, and will allow the company to claim it deters abuse by those seeking to dissolve and inject it. More »
Kite Pharma Inc said on Monday it partnered with Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd to develop and commercialize its cancer treatment therapy in Japan, putting the U.S. company in line to receive up to $250 million in payments. More »
By Andrew M. Seaman(Reuters Health) – Drugs recently approved around the world to fight cancer increased patients’ overall survival, but benefits va More »
A person holds pharmaceutical tablets and capsules in this picture illustration taken in Ljubljana September 18, 2013. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic Last year turned out to be a disappointing one for new drug approvals with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cle... More »
Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Tuesday that its drug to treat certain cystic fibrosis patients failed a late-stage study, sending the company’s shares tumbling nearly 70 percent in after-hours trading. More »
An electoral poster of Donald Trump is displayed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) the morning after the U.S. presidential election in New York City, U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid For some equity funds and those betting on m... More »
An artificial leaf designed by scientists at Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Drury Dutch scientists have developed an artificial leaf that can act as a mini-factory for producing drugs, an advance that could allow... More »
Hungarian pharmaceuticals firm Richter has withdrawn its marketing application for one of its biosimilar drugs from the European Medicines Agency in anticipation of a possible negative assessment, the company said on Monday. More »
German biotech firm Medigene said it is drawing more interest from prospective alliance partners for its technology to boost the immune response to cancer after its deal with U.S. peer Bluebird Bio. More »
Short seller Citron Research’s Andrew Left has turned his sights on Express Scripts Holding Co, calling the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) the “culprit behind pharmaceutical price gouging.” More »
By Gene Emery(Reuters Health) – Two of the largest suppliers of the life-saving drug naloxone have dramatically increased their prices in recent year More »
The logo of Swiss drugmaker Novartis is seen at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland October 22, 2013. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo Swiss drugmaker Novartis’s bid to bolster its eye drug portfolio suffered a setback on Monday when it announced combining ... More »
A logo is pictured on the laboratory building on the Lonza site in Visp, western Switzerland September 10, 2013. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer Lonza Group AG on Monday confirmed it is in advanced talks with private equity firm KKR &... More »
A promising but risky new group of customized cancer drugs will be in focus this weekend at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), where clinical trial results will help clarify their potential for doctors and investors. More »
A Novartis logo is pictured on its headquarters building in Mumbai April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/File Photo An experimental cancer therapy being developed by Novartis AG eliminated an aggressive form of blood cancer in 82 percent of children and young a... More »
A person holds pharmaceutical tablets and capsules in this picture illustration taken in Ljubljana September 18, 2013. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic U.S. health spending in 2015 rose at its fastest rate since 2007, driven by expanded access to insurance under the A... More »
Scientist Frantisek Lizal looks at a model of a functioning human lung that can be used to simulate chronic diseases and their treatments in the Brno University of Technology in Brno, Czech Republic, November 22, 2016. Picture taken November 22, 2016. REUTERS/... More »
A general view shows Swiss biotech group Actelion Headquarters in Allschwil near Basel February 17, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann Actelion (ATLN.S) has confirmed it has been approached by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) about a possible transaction to take over the Sw... More »
A general view shows Swiss biotech group Actelion Headquarters in Allschwil near Basel February 17, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann U.S. healthcare company Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) said on Friday it was in preliminary talks with Actelion (ATLN.S) about a potentia... More »
Herve Brailly, CEO of Innate Pharma, attends the Reuters Biotech summit in Paris June 3, 2009. REUTERS/John Schults France’s Innate Pharma believes that its cash position and portfolio are sufficiently robust for the cancer drug company to remain independent f... More »
By Andrew M. Seaman(Reuters Health) – U.S. women may be more likely to report that they belong to a sexual minority if they live in states that reco More »
A man uses an umbrella to guard against snowfall as he walks past the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, Midtown New York March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Adrees Latif Biotech stocks still have room to rise after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, which re... More »
Richter received a positive opinion from European regulators recommending that its generic osteoporosis drug Terrosa be granted marketing authorization, the Hungarian drug maker said in a statement on Monday. More »
Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc said its lead drug outperformed a placebo in a mid-stage study involving patients with a form of systemic sclerosis, an incurable autoimmune condition caused by abnormal growth of connective tissue. More »
A view shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo Dynavax Technologies Corp said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had rejected the marketing applicatio... More »
Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have used the CRISPR gene editing tool to repair the gene that causes sickle cell disease in stem cells from diseased patients, paving the way for a potential cure for the disease, which affects up to 5 mill... More »
A person holds pharmaceutical tablets and capsules in this picture illustration taken in Ljubljana September 18, 2013. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic By Magdalena MisLONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Essential medicines could be provided for as little as $1-$2 a... More »
Health insurer Cigna Corp has discontinued its policy of requiring doctors to seek authorization before treating opioid addicts, as part of a fight against an epidemic of opioid abuse, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Friday. More »
U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton listens as U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders speaks about college affordability during a campaign event at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire, United States September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brian ... More »
Drugmaker Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc’s drug to treat a rare liver condition was conditionally approved an advisory committee to the European Medicines Agency on Friday. More »
Scientists launched a global initiative on Friday to map out and describe every cell in the human body in a vast atlas that could transform researchers’ understanding of human development and disease. More »
By Madeline Kennedy(Reuters Health) – Health might be its own reward, but even cash incentives only work in the short term to motivate people to exer More »
Yoshinori Ohsumi, a professor of Tokyo Institute of Technology, attends a news conference after he won the Nobel medicine prize at Tokyo Institute of Technology in Tokyo, Japan, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hooni Japan’s Yoshinori Ohsumi won the 2016 Nob... More »
J. Fraser Stoddart, one of the winners of 2016 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, raises his glass for a toast at Northwestern University in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, U.S., October 5, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young A trio of European scientists has won the 20... More »
The GM logo is seen in Warren, Michigan, U.S. on October 26, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo Bioservo Technologies, a medical technology firm that makes a light-weight robotic “extra muscle” glove for people with weak grips is teaming up with carmaker Ge... More »
By Andrew M. Seaman(Reuters Health) – Common blood pressure medications may increase the risk for severe mood disorder episodes, a new study suggest More »
A court ruled in Depomed Inc’s favor in a patent dispute over its opioid drug, Nucynta, a decision that could help pave the way for the drug maker to explore a sale. More »
The logo of Swiss drugmaker Novartis is seen at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland October 22, 2013. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo Novartis’s psoriasis drug Cosentyx showed long-term efficacy in keeping patients’ skin clear, the Swiss drugmaker said on ... More »
German biotech Morphosys moved a step closer to getting its first antibody drug onto the market as its licensee, Johnson & Johnson unit Jenssen, reported positive results from a phase 3 study of psoriasis drug guselkumab. More »
Big pharmaceutical companies are waging courtroom patent battles against each other over biosimilars, as the line blurs between companies known for their inn More »
An Amgen sign is seen at the company’s office in South San Francisco, California in this October 21, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/Files The line dividing makers of brand-name drugs and copycat medicines is blurring as companies known for innovativ... More »
Endo International Plc (ENDP.O) said Chief Executive Rajiv De Silva had stepped down and would be replaced by generics division head Paul Campanelli, as the drugmaker grapples with a large debt load and mounting pressure on some of its drug prices. More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Amgen Inc’s biosimilar version of AbbVie’s top-selling arthritis drug, Humira. More »
French multinational pharmaceutical company SANOFI logo is seen at the headquarters in Paris, France, March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo French drugmaker Sanofi (SASY.PA) and its U.S. partner Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN.O) could win U.S. ap... More »
The Pfizer logo is seen at their world headquarters in Manhattan, New York, U.S., August 1, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc said on Monday it had decided not to separate into two publicly traded companies at this time. More »
An experimental stem cell therapy developed by Asterias Biotherapeutics restored some movement to patients paralyzed by recent spinal cord injuries, according to interim data from a small study being presented on Wednesday. More »
A sign for the headquarters of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc is seen in Laval, Quebec June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc said its discount and rebates program for two high-priced heart drugs would cov... More »
A logo is seen in front of the entrance at the headquarters French drugmaker Sanofi in Paris October 30, 2014. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo French drugmaker Sanofi and Google owner Alphabet’s life sciences firm Verily are to invest about $500 million ... More »
Swiss biotechnology firm ADIENNE said on Monday it plans to seek a listing on Switzerland’s bourse in an initial public offering. More »
A dust-sized wireless sensor that makes it possible to wirelessly monitor neural activity in real time when implanted inside the body, is shown on a finger in this handout photo. UC Berkeley/Handout via Reuters Scientists are developing dust-sized wireless sen... More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday banned some over-the-counter antibacterial hand and body wash products, saying they are no more effective than soap and water and could cause long-term harm. More »
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson The party looked to be waning for some popular investments in the latest week, with investors trimming expo... More »
An edes aegypti mosquito is seen inside a test tube as part of a research on preventing the spread of the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases at a control and prevention center in Guadalupe, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Danie... More »
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss | BOSTON BOSTON Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point added new bets in the energy and information technology sectors with investments in Whiting Petroleum Corp., Facebook and Activision Blizzard Inc, according to reg... More »
NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO U.S. prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (VRX.N) over whether it hid from insurers its relationship with a specialty pharmacy that helped boost its drug sales, the Wall Street J... More »
MIAMI U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged federal lawmakers currently on summer recess back into session to pass a crucial funding bill to combat the Zika virus as she visited a health clinic at the heart of a local outbreak in Miami o... More »
LONDON The heirs of Dolly the sheep are enjoying a healthy old age, proving cloned animals can live normal lives and offering reassurance to scientists hoping to use cloned cells in medicine. Dolly, cloning’s poster child, was born in Scotland in 1996. She die... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla/CHICAGO Given her background in researching some of the deadliest pathogens on Earth, including Ebola, colleagues of newly arrived astronaut Kate Rubins had expected her to want to do “crazy science fiction” on the International Space Stati... More »
CHICAGO A new type of cancer drug that takes the brakes off the body’s immune system has given drugmakers some remarkable wins against the deadly disease, but a top U.S. regulator says too many companies are focused on the same approach. Dr. Richard Pazdur, he... More »
CHICAGO A new wave of experimental cancer drugs that directly recruit the immune system’s powerful T cells could begin reaching patients next year, according to companies presenting new data at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. I... More »
U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff released voting questions on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd’s long-acting opioid painkiller for a panel of independent experts who will recommend to the agency whether to approve the drug. An FDA spokesman on Friday ... More »
An experimental, long-acting painkiller made by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd does not have abuse-resistant properties when taken orally, according to a preliminary review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The drug, whose proposed trade name is Va... More »
WASHINGTON A group of 25 scientists on Thursday proposed an ambitious project to create a synthetic human genome, or genetic blueprint, in an endeavor that is bound to raise concerns over the extent to which human life can or should be engineered. A synthetic ... More »
Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) is buying Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc (ANAC.O) in a $5.2 billion deal to add an eczema gel to its portfolio, a month after the U.S. drug major scrapped plans to buy Allergan Plc (AGN.N). Anacor shares rose 54 percent to $98.60 in premarket tr... More »
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc said on Monday it would make available to all hospitals in the United States an enhanced rebate program to reduce the price of its heart drugs Nitropress and Isuprel. All hospitals are eligible for a rebate of at least... More »
U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Monday following a bruising week that left the Dow and the S&P 500 lower for the third straight week. * U.S. stocks fell on Friday as a decline in oil prices added to pressure from consumer companies after gloomy... More »
SYDNEY Australian pharmaceutical company Starpharma Holdings Ltd said it is teaming up with world No. 2 condom maker Ansell Ltd to supply Zika virus-proof condoms to the Australian Olympic team ahead of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games. Starpharma said it is givi... More »
NEW YORK Dan Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point LLC bought more than a half a million Class A share position of Google parent Alphabet Inc, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Friday. Third Point took a new stake of 700,000 Alphabet shares... More »
Medivation Inc (MDVN.O) will actively seek to sell itself after the US cancer drug maker rejected a $9.3 billion takeover offer from France’s Sanofi SA (SASY.PA), according to people familiar with the situation. The San Francisco-based company has agreed to op... More »
(Reuters Health) – While many forms of e-cigarette advertising increase the odds that teens will try the devices, a new U.S. study suggests that this generation of digital natives is most enticed by promotions they see online. Big U.S. tobacco companies are al... More »
CAMBRIDGE, England AstraZeneca, working with genome pioneer Craig Venter, is launching a massive gene hunt in the most comprehensive bet yet by a pharmaceutical firm on the potential of genetic variations to unlock routes to new medicines. The initiative, anno... More »
An experimental once-daily combination hepatitis C treatment being developed by AbbVie Inc demonstrated very high cure rates across a wide range of disease genotypes, according to data presented on Saturday, likely giving the company a more competitive product... More »
WASHINGTON An Ohio man paralyzed in an accident while diving in waves can now pick up a bottle or play the video game Guitar Hero thanks to a small computer chip in his brain that lets his mind guide his hands and fingers, bypassing his damaged spinal cord. Sc... More »
SEOUL Samsung Bioepis Co Ltd, which aims to become a force in the fledgling biosimilar drugs industry, has filed a lawsuit against the originator of the world’s best-selling drug, to stop it blocking the launch of its own version. The unit of South Korea’s Sam... More »
LONDON The world’s first life-saving gene therapy for children, developed by Italian scientists and GlaxoSmithKline, has been recommended for approval in Europe, boosting the pioneering technology to fix faulty genes. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said o... More »
TEL AVIV Already a pioneer in high-tech and cutting-edge agriculture, Israel is starting to attract American companies looking to bring medical marijuana know-how to a booming market back home. Since 2014, U.S. firms have invested about $50 million in licensin... More »
LONDON French drugmaker Sanofi has poached one of AstraZeneca’s top scientists to be its new research head in another high-profile departure for the British drugmaker. Sanofi said on Tuesday that Yong-Jun Liu had been appointed as head of research with effect ... More »
SAN JOSE, Calif.,/NEW YORK A federal jury on Thursday ordered Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O) to pay Merck & Co (MRK.N) $200 million in damages for infringing two Merck patents related to a lucrative cure for hepatitis C. The damages award is far less than the $2... More »
WASHINGTON Scientists on Thursday announced the creation of a synthetic organism stripped down to the bare essentials with the fewest genes needed to survive and multiply, a feat at the microscopic level that may provide big insights on the very nature of life... More »
Reuters Health – A major weakness of asthma care is that many patients don’t know how to use inhalers to deliver life-saving medicine when they’re gasping for air. The fix may be as simple as taking more time to teach patients how the devices work, a U.S. stud... More »
U.S. health regulators said a genetically engineered mosquito being used in the fight against Zika will not have a significant impact on the environment, possibly paving the way for the technique to be used in the country. The self-limiting strain of the Aedes... More »
Pregnant women should consider not traveling to the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil due to the risk of Zika virus infection, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. CDC also said women considering becoming pregnant, and their male part... More »
U.S. health officials are investigating 14 reports of the Zika virus that may been transmitted through sex, including to several pregnant women, raising new questions about the role sexual transmission is playing in the growing outbreak. In two of the suspecte... More »
NEW YORK The tumble in share prices for biotechnology stocks has created some buying opportunities, with drugmakers Celgene Corp (CELG.O) and Gilead Sciences (GILD.O) poised for a 30 percent rise over the next year, Barron’s said. Both companies currently rely... More »
RENNES, France A man left brain dead after a drug trial in northwest France died on Sunday, said the hospital where he was being treated. The Rennes hospital said in a statement that five other volunteers were in stable condition after they were admitted last ... More »
LONDON Drugmaker Shire Plc clinched its six-month pursuit of Baxalta International Inc on Monday by agreeing a $32 billion cash and stock offer that will make it one of the world’s leading rare disease specialists. The London-listed group, which first approach... More »
PARIS Sanofi boosted its presence in cancer research on Monday by signing two deals with biotech companies worth up to $1.2 billion, as the French drugmaker plays catch-up with rivals in the hot research field. Shares in French biotech group Innate Pharma, one... More »
