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DATA COMPILATION #PharmaFlow

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FDA approvals rise 49% in 2023; CRISPR’s gene editing therapy sees light of day
In 2022, when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was reeling under the impact of the pandemic, new drug approvals by the agency dropped by 26 percent. But last year, FDA’s new drug approvals rebounded by an impressive 49 percent, with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) approving 55 new drugs in 2023. Of them, 36 percent were considered first-in-class, while small molecules made up for 62 percent of the total drugs approved (i.e. 34). FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) okayed 19 biologics in 2023 compared to eight in the previous year.The first half of 2023 saw the debut of vaccines for the all-too-common respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Among the other notable approvals in H1 was Biogen and Eisai’s Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi (lecanemab). Out of the total 55 drug approvals, 29 came in H2 2023. This includes Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics’ Casgevy that relies on the Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR gene-editing technology. Casgevy has been approved as a treatment for sickle-cell disease (SCD) and β-thalassemia.While FDA witnessed a sharp rise in approvals in 2023, many other drug regulators didn’t. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) granted marketing authorization to 32 novel drugs in 2023, a fall from 33 in 2022. Similarly, Health Canada’s approvals in 2023 decreased to 38, compared to 45 in the previous year.As usual, oncology topped the list of drug approvals by therapeutic area, at 39 (as opposed to 35 in 2022). Rare diseases was the second most popular therapeutic area for drug approvals. With drugmakers clearly paying heed to the unmet needs of patients suffering from rare diseases, this therapeutic area sprinted from a 9 percent share and the fourth position among new approvals in 2022 to an impressive 34 percent share in 2023. A quarter of the new drug approvals were in infectious diseases, followed by immunology (19 percent) and neurology (7 percent).View New Drug Approvals in 2023 with Estimated Sales (Free Excel Available) Casgevy, postpartum depression drug Zurzuvae emerge as potential blockbustersGene therapy Casgevy, postpartum depression (PPD) med Zurzuvae, blood cancer med Elrexfio and ulcerative colitis drug Velsipity were some of the prominent approvals of 2023.Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency was the first to okay Casgevy in November as a cure for SCD and β-thalassemia. Soon, the FDA approved it for SCD. In January this year, the American agency also approved it for transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT). Analysts estimate Casgevy to generate US$ 2.6 billion in peak sales, says Nature. Biogen and Sage’s PPD therapy Zurzuvae became the first and only FDA-approved pill for the condition that can be life-threatening for both the mother and the child. Global sales of Zurzuvae are forecast to hit US$ 1.28 billion by 2028.In August, Pfizer’s Elrexfio (elranatamab) became the first “off-the-shelf” (ready-to-use) therapy in the US for multiple myeloma. The drug provides an option for patients with hard to treat or relapsed blood cancer and is estimated to bring in US$ 861 million in peak sales by 2028, says Nature.Pfizer also bagged another significant approval in October — its drug Velsipity (etrasimod) was greenlit by the FDA to treat adults with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease. Peak revenue for Velsipity is expected to come in at US$ 825 million, as per Evaluate.View New Drug Approvals in 2023 with Estimated Sales (Free Excel Available) Astra’s Truqap, GSK’s Ojjaara among top cancer therapies given FDA nod in H2In November, FDA approved AstraZeneca’s Truqap (capivasertib) in combination with the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker’s Faslodex (fulvestrant) for treating adult patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer with one or more biomarker alterations. Evaluate Pharma forecasts peak Truqap sales to come in at about US$ 690 million.In September, FDA approved GSK’s Ojjaara (momelotinib) as the first and only treatment for myelofibrosis with anemia. Nearly all myelofibrosis patients are estimated to develop anemia over the course of the disease. Ojjaara is taken orally once a day.Other notable oncology treatments okayed by FDA in H2 2023 include Daiichi’s Vanflyta (quizartinib) in July to treat an aggressive blood cancer known as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In August, FDA approved Janssen’s bispecific antibody Talvey (talquetamab-tgvs) for difficult-to-treat blood cancer. The agency approved two cancer therapies in November — BMS’ Augtyro (repotrectinib) for ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and Takeda’s targeted oral therapy Fruzaqla (fruquintinib) for adult patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).View New Drug Approvals in 2023 with Estimated Sales (Free Excel Available) Rare disease drugs Santhera-Catalyst’s Agamree, Novo’s Rivfloza bag approval in H2In October, FDA approved Santhera Pharmaceuticals and Catalyst Pharma’s Agamree (vamorolone), an oral suspension treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in patients two years of age and older. This makes it the first drug fully approved in both the US and Europe for the muscle degeneration disorder. Agamree acts in a manner similar to other steroids, which are the standard of care for the inherited rare disease. However, it causes fewer side effects.FDA also okayed Novo Nordisk’s once-a-month injection Rivfloza (nedosiran) in October to treat a rare genetic condition — primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) — that causes recurring kidney stones.In November, the agency approved Takeda’s Adzynma (ADAMTS13, recombinant-krhn) as the first treatment for both adult and pediatric patients with congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (cTTP), a rare genetic blood disorder. Other noteworthy FDA approvals in H2 2023 for rare blood diseases include Novartis’ Fabhalta and bluebird bio's Lyfgenia. Fabhalta is the first oral monotherapy for the treatment of adults with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a rare disease that causes symptoms such as hemolytic anemia, hemoglobinuria (excretion of hemoglobin in the urine), fatigue, shortness of breath etc. Lyfgenia is the first cell-based gene therapy for the treatment of SCD in patients 12 years and older. Similarly, another rare disease drug — Regeneron’s Veopoz —  bagged FDA approval in August last. Veopoz treats CHAPLE disease, an ultra-rare disease in which patients have severe gastrointestinal problems.View New Drug Approvals in 2023 with Estimated Sales (Free Excel Available) Our viewAfter a lull in 2022, new drug approvals have finally gathered momentum. The good news is that this year, several pathbreaking drugs are coming up for approval, such as Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ resmetirom (the first treatment for NASH with liver fibrosis), Merck’s sotatercept (a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension), Lilly’s donanemab for Alzheimer’s disease and Karuna Therapeutics’ drug to treat schizophrenia. Let’s hope 2024 turns out to be an even bigger year for new drug approvals.

Impressions: 3341

https://www.pharmacompass.com/radio-compass-blog/fda-approvals-rise-49-in-2023-crispr-s-gene-editing-therapy-sees-light-of-day

#PharmaFlow by PHARMACOMPASS
01 Feb 2024

STOCK RECAP #PipelineProspector

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Pipeline Prospector Oct 2023: Disappointing Q3 results, attacks on Israel, Gaza drag pharma indices down further
October was a gloomy month that saw Palestinian militant group Hamas attack Israel in the first week, resulting in the killing of hundreds of innocent people. Israel retaliated, formally declaring a war on Hamas. Another raging war, after the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, doesn’t augur well for the planet, let alone humanity, economies and industries.The pharma indices reacted to the bloodshed, as also to the disappointing third quarter (Q3) results posted by some drugmakers. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) was down 8 percent, at US$ 3,637.05 while the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) was down 12 percent, at US$ 64.12, and the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index (SPSIBI) was down by 9 percent, at US$ 4,991.31.On the upside, the month saw several large deals. The biggest deal of the month was Roche’s acquisition of Telavant from Roivant for US$ 7.1 billion. BMS announced the acquisition of Mirati Therapeutics for US$ 4.8 billion. Through this acquisition, BMS will gain access to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lung cancer drug Krazati (adagrasib). And Eli Lilly expanded its oncology capabilities by acquiring Point Biopharma for US$ 1.4 billion.Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for October 2023 Newsmakers (Free Excel)Sanofi, Takeda cut 2023 profit forecasts; AbbVie, BMS post drop in Q3 salesSeveral drugmakers announced their Q3 2023 results last month. Sanofi (stock down by 15 percent in October) reported a 4.1 percent drop in Q3 sales, at €11.9 billion (US$ 12.5 billion). What was worse, the French drugmaker lost €20 billion (US$ 21 billion) in market capitalization soon after announcing these results as it had abandoned its 2025 profit target of 32 percent. Instead of chasing the lofty target, Sanofi has decided to focus on “long-term profitability”, and increase spending on immunology and inflammation drug development. Sales of Sanofi’s multiple sclerosis drug Aubagio dropped by a whopping 60.5 percent to €199 million (US$ 210.2 million) primarily due to competition from generics in the US market. Takeda (down by 7 percent) slashed its full-year profit forecast by 36 percent to 225 billion yen (US$ 1.5 billion) as it contends with disappointments in its development pipeline and the loss of patent protection in key products.BMS (down by 10 percent) reported Q3 revenue of US$ 11 billion, a 2 percent decrease from the same quarter last year, mainly due to 41 percent decline in sales of its cancer drug Revlimid.AbbVie (down by 5 percent) reported Q3 net revenues of US$ 13.92 billion, marking a 6 percent decrease over Q3 2022. This drop is attributed in part to the launch of Humira biosimilars, which have caused a 36.2 percent reduction in the immunology drug’s net revenues. Additionally, AbbVie’s blood cancer drug Imbruvica’s net revenues have dropped by 20 percent.Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for October 2023 Newsmakers (Free Excel) Low Covid sales hit Pfizer, BioNTech, Roche stocks; Pfizer’s Q3 sales dip by 42%Pfizer (down by 9 percent) saw a 42 percent decline in its Q3 revenues — at US$ 13.23 billion — primarily due to lower sales of its Covid products. While sales of its mRNA vaccine Comirnaty fell by 70 percent (at US$ 1.3 billion), its Covid drug Paxlovid saw a 97 percent drop in sales over Q3 2022.Pfizer has significantly reduced its full-year revenue forecast and also plans to save US$ 3.5 billion through job cuts and cost reductions. Its partner for Comirnaty, BioNTech, is yet to announce its Q3 results, but its stock fell by 13 percent during October.Roche’s Q3 sales also slipped by 3 percent to CHF 14.3 billion (US$ 15.9 billion) owing to a slump in Covid sales. The Swiss drugmaker has predicted a decline in 2023 sales of Covid products at about CHF 4.5 billion (US$ 4.99 billion). Its previous estimate was CHF 5 billion (US$ 5.5 billion). Roche’s stock was down by 6 percent last month.Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for October 2023 Newsmakers (Free Excel) Merck, Novo raise 2023 guidance; Ozempic, Wegovy boost Novo salesAmong the gainers were mega-cap drugmakers Merck (stock up by 1 percent in October) and Novo Nordisk (up by 4 percent). Merck has reported higher-than-expected third-quarter results on strong demand for its Covid-19 treatment, Lagevrio (molnupiravir), cancer med Keytruda and HPV vaccine Gardasil. As a result, Merck has revised its 2023 sales upwards, in the range of US$ 59.7 billion to US$ 60.2 billion (from US$ 58.6 billion to US$ 59.6 billion).Novo Nordisk’s popular diabetes med Ozempic and weight loss med Wegovy are boosting the company’s sales. Ergo, the company expects full-year sales to grow between 32 and 38 percent at constant exchange rates. Moreover, Novo has acquired ocedurenone, a drug in late-stage trial, from KBP Biosciences for up to US$ 1.3 billion. Ocedurenone is an oral treatment for uncontrolled hypertension with potential applications in cardiovascular and kidney disease.Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for October 2023 Newsmakers (Free Excel) Astra, Ventyx stocks hit by disappointing trial data; Lilly, Vertex post gainsAstraZeneca’s stock was hit by disappointing results from a late-stage trial of its experimental lung cancer drug — datopotamab deruxtecan. Astra’s stock was down by 6 percent in October and its partner in developing the drug, Daiichi Sankyo’s stock fell by 4 percent.Similarly, Ventyx Biosciences (down by 56 percent) announced positive results from a phase 2 trial  in patients with moderate-to-severely active ulcerative colitis, but investors were unimpressed due to doubts about whether the candidate has an edge over rival Pfizer’s etrasimod and BMS’ Zeposia. Akero Therapeutics’ (down by 76 percent) nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) candidate, efruxifermin, failed mid-stage trial as it didn’t show any significant benefit for patients with cirrhosis caused by NASH, the most advanced and life-threatening stage of the fatty liver disease. Similarly, Sarepta Therapeutics’ treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (a muscle-wasting disease) — Elevidys — failed a phase 3 study, taking its stock down by 44 percent in October.In a positive clinical trial news, Lilly’s Crohn’s disease experimental drug mirikizumab met the main goals of a phase 3 study. Similarly, Vertex (up by 4 percent) posted encouraging positive clinical trial results of VX-880 to treat type 1 diabetes.Meanwhile, FDA issued a complete response letter (CRL) to Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ siRNA therapy Onpattro (patisiran) for the treatment of cardiomyopathy of transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis. It stated that Alnylam (down by 15 percent) has not provided enough evidence of the therapy’s benefit in the proposed indication.Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for October 2023 Newsmakers (Free Excel) Our viewThe biopharma industry is eagerly awaiting the approval of several experimental drugs in Q4 2023, including Italfarmaco’s givinostat for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and Valneva’s single-shot chikungunya vaccine VLA1553.We are already seeing the market inch upwards. Let’s hope the exciting pipeline and new drug approvals are able to pull pharma indices out of the doldrums.Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for October 2023 Newsmakers (Free Excel) 

Impressions: 2364

https://www.pharmacompass.com/pipeline-prospector-blog/disappointing-q3-results-attacks-on-israel-gaza-drag-pharma-indices-down-further

#PharmaFlow by PHARMACOMPASS
02 Nov 2023

NEWS #PharmaBuzz

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https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/pfizers-velsipity-poised-outpace-bms-zeposia-ulcerative-colitis-market-must-head-further

Andrea Park FIERCE PHARMA
04 Apr 2024

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/everest-medicines-announces-acceptance-of-velsipity-new-drug-application-in-macau-302084833.html

PR NEWSWIRE
10 Mar 2024

https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/european-commission-approves-pfizers-velsipityr-patients#:~:text=(NYSE%3A%20PFE)%20announced%20today,lost%20response%2C%20or%20were%20intolerant

PRESS RELEASE
20 Feb 2024

https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/overview/velsipity-epar-medicine-overview_en.pdf-0

EMA
16 Feb 2024

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/everest-medicines-licensing-partner-pfizer-announces-us-fda-approves-etrasimod-for-adults-with-moderately-to-severely-active-ulcerative-colitis-301956907.html

PR NEWSWIRE
15 Oct 2023

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/everest-medicines-announces-completion-of-patient-enrollment-in-phase-3-clinical-trial-of-etrasimod-in-asia-301826669.html

PR NEWSWIRE
16 May 2023