News and Trends 20 Jun 2017 Novartis Tops Ophthalmology Blockbuster Eylea in Phase III Trials Bayer’s and Regeneron’s blockbuster Eylea could be facing serious competition, as Novartis boasts with positive Phase III results for AMD. Novartis has been struggling on the age-related macular degeneration (AMD) market since its Roche-partnered VEGF-A inhibitor Lucentis was outperformed by Eylea from Bayer and Regeneron, which required a less-frequent dosing schedule and was placed at a lower […] June 20, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jun 2017 Novartis Announces New Data for its Psoriasis Blockbuster Cosentyx Novartis has announced positive post-marketing results for its blockbuster Cosentyx, with which the pharma wants to compete with the best-selling drug. At the 2017 Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, currently being held in Madrid, Novartis has presented new data showing that Cosentyx (secukinumab) keeps improving symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis after three years of treatment and […] June 15, 2017 - 1 minutemin - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 May 2017 Swiss Researchers get to the Genetic Bottom of Kidney Cancer Researchers from the University of Zurich have established a new mouse model of kidney cancer that could further our understanding of this deadly disease. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common form of kidney cancer and in roughly half of the patients with this disease the tumor develops metastasis and can’t be […] May 30, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 30 May 2017 In Geneva, the Capital of Peace, 10 Biotechs Are Putting up a Fight Geneva is the largest city in French-speaking Switzerland, a financial powerhouse, home to the United Nations and known as the “Peace Capital.” Can the city’s biotech industry justify its high profile? Geneva rose to recognition as a biotech hub in 2006, when Serono sealed its acquisition by Merck in the city’s biggest-ever licensing plan. However, a late-stage […] May 30, 2017 - 7 minutesmins - By Denise Neves Gameiro Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 24 May 2017 French Biotech Enters New Agreement to Advance its IBD Immunotherapy OSE Immunotherapeutics has teamed up with Selexis in a new license agreement to support the development of its IL-7 antagonist for the treatment of IBD. In the end of last year, French OSE Immunotherapeutics joined forces with Servier to develop and commercialize its interleukin-7 antagonist (Effi-7) in a deal that could earn the biotech up […] May 24, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 May 2017 Roche’s Checkpoint Inhibitor Misfires in Late-Stage Trials Roche’s drug tecentriq just failed a late-stage Phase III study in bladder cancer, raising questions about its future as an anticipated blockbuster. Roche and Genentech have been pushing their checkpoint inhibitor tecentriq onto the market last year, going for a number of different indications including bladder cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). After the FDA handed out accelerated approval in May 2016, […] May 10, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 4 May 2017 Video Interview: This Biotech Wants to Take Over the NOTCH Space Cellestia, based in Basel, is a biotech spin-off from EPFL, developing new compounds targeting the NOTCH pathway for the treatment of cancer. Its CEO, Michael Bauer, talked to Philip at our recent meetup in Basel and explained what sets Cellestia apart from other players in the field. Cellestia was founded in 2014, based on the […] May 4, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 May 2017 Novartis Gains Access to Celyad’s allogenic CAR-T cell patents Belgian Celyad is giving Novartis access to its IP for the production of allogeneic CAR-T cells in a non-exclusive license agreement, worth up to €88M. Celyad is developing “off-the-shelf” therapies, based on engineering donor-derived allogeneic T cells. Despite a recent public dispute with its key rival Cellectis regarding the validity of Celyad’s US patents, Novartis has now entered a non-exclusive […] May 2, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Apr 2017 Novartis Negotiates its Way into the US Migraine Market Amgen and Novartis have expanded their collaboration for the co-development of their migraine drug, ensuring Novartis will get a chunk of the US revenues. After Novartis and Amgen recently completed their second Phase III study for their migraine drug erenumab, the companies have now reworked their commercial partnership. The two pharma giants teamed up back in 2015 to co-develop […] April 25, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Apr 2017 Two Big Pharma Players Team up to Take Over the NASH Space Allergan has entered a clinical collaboration with Novartis to run a Phase IIb study combining its immunomodulator and Novartis’ FXR agonist for NASH. After Allergan snapped up Tobira’s cenicriviroc (CVC) last year in a €1.4B deal, the company is now taking the next step to advance its pipeline in the Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH) race. The pharma company is going […] April 18, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 18 Apr 2017 The Top 12 Biotech Leaders You Should Know in Basel After exploring Munich and the Golden Triangle, we head to another biotech hotspot full of people that should be on your list of who’s who. Basel is home to some really big biotech and pharma companies and it’s consequently a cornerstone of the excellence Switzerland has demonstrated in the industry (also seen in Zurich). As a key […] April 18, 2017 - 6 minutesmins - By Denise Neves Gameiro Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 12 Apr 2017 Swiss Pharma Clears €37M Funding to Develop a New Class of Antibiotics Swiss Polyphor has closed a €37M (CHF40M) private funding round to finance the development of its most advanced candidate tackling antibiotic resistances. Polyphor is a clinical stage pharma developing a specific class of so called ‘macrocyclic drugs‘, which are chemically defined by a ring structure. The company’s pipeline is covering a broad range of diseases such as […] April 12, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email