Contract sales organisations (CSOs) can be significant for companies who are searching for support to help market their brand, and choosing the right partner can be crucial for achieving commercial success. Here, the Uniphar Commercial Brand Engagement Team shares how pharmaceutical companies can select the right CSO to drive them in the direction of success ..read more

The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved a first-in-class drug, capivasertib (Truqap), in combination with fulvestrant, for treating the most common type of advanced breast cancer. The drug will be available to people in the UK with hormone receptor (HR) positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) negative breast cancer, with ..read more

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidance recommending TECVAYLI®▼ (teclistamab) in England and Wales as an option for treating relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) in adults after three or more treatments, when the myeloma has progressed on their last treatment, and only if pomalidomide plus dexamethasone (pom-dex) would ..read more

Steve Hopkinson has been appointed as Vice President and General Manager of AbbVie. With effect from 1st August 2024, Steve will succeed Todd Manning, who retires from AbbVie after 28 years, the last five of which have been in the UK Vice President and General Manager role. Steve joined AbbVie in 2014, as UK Specialty Business Unit Director. He went on to lead AbbVie’s Immunology franchise in the UK and across Western Europe and Canada before taking on a General Manager role in the company’s Global Marketing and Commercial operations team. He was promoted to his most recent position of Europea ..read more

Scientists have discovered a genetic aberration found in some prostate cancers, that could allow more men to be successfully treated with an existing targeted drug. A team from The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, found that cancer cells which have ‘lost’ DNA repair protein, RNASEH2B, are killed when treated with a type of drug called a PARP inhibitor. The RNASEH2B gene plays a role in repairing certain forms of DNA damage, and when it is deleted or ‘lost’ during cell division or replication, it no longer functions as it should. The ICR team hope that the discovery will mean that ol ..read more

A multiple sclerosis (MS) injection has gained NHS England approval, meaning that thousands of patients could benefit. The new 10-minute injection can help slow the progression of MS, whilst cutting their treatment time in hospital by over 90%. The NHS will be one of the first healthcare systems in the world to offer the new injection to treat MS, with stock of the drug set to be available in coming weeks. Around 9,000 patients in England currently receiving the drug ocrelizumab, via an intravenous (IV) infusion, can now be offered the jab, following approval from the Medicines and Healthcare ..read more

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended Ebglyss (lebrikizumab) for use in moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in the NHS England. Lebrikizumab is indicated for the treatment of adult and adolescent patients (12 years and older with a body weight of at least 40 kg) with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, who are candidates for systemic therapy. The treatment was approved by the European Commission and the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in December 2023. In the United Kingdom, approximately 5.2 million adults (7.7%, 1 ..read more

Imfinzi▼(durvalumab) in combination with chemotherapy has been approved in Great Britain for the treatment of resectable non-small cell lung cancer (rNSCLC). The approval from the MHRA is based on positive data from the AEGEAN Phase III trial, which showed that Imfinzi (durvalumab)-based treatment before and after surgery reduced the risk of recurrence, progression events or death by 32% versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone.1 The decision means that durvalumab is now licenced in Great Britain in both the resectable and unresectable non-small cell lung cancer settings which further reinforces ..read more

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has published final advice and approved two rare disease therapies. Rare diseases affect around 8% (436,000) of the Scottish population.1 Elfabrio®▼ (pegunigalsidase alfa), a novel enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), has been approved as a treatment option for Fabry disease in adults, while birch bark extract gel has been approved as a treatment option for junctional and dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (EB), subject to data collection under the SMC’s ultra-orphan medicines framework.2,3,4 The availability of both treatments addresses significant unmet pat ..read more

Maurice Leonard, Medical Affairs Director at Uniphar shares his key takeaways from The World Orphan Drug Congress, Barcelona. As a company dedicated to enabling small to medium biotech companies to launch their therapies in Europe, Uniphar’s medical team attended to join the conversation around advancements in orphan drugs and rare diseases. What was your general reflection on the event? The World Orphan Drug Congress is a really important platform for patient groups, researchers, and industry to join forces and exchange insights. I found the inclusion of many patient support groups very refre ..read more