In a bid to venture into the healthcare field from its domain in the industrial precision manufacturing industry, Nordson has recently acquired Atrion for $800 million, an amount that is approximately 20 times its 2023 EBITDA, in an all-cash deal. Each Atrion share will be purchased for $460, making the total valuation for the deal 15 times more than the predicted profit Atrion is expected to bring in 2024. Once stockholder and pending regulatory approvals clear, the deal is expected to be finalized before the end of Nordson’s fiscal year 2024. The 80-year-old Texas-based company is an attract ..read more

Johnson & Johnson developed seltorexant as an orexin-2 antagonist to prevent excessive receptor stimulation that leads to hyperarousal. The drug specifically targets a protein known as orexin-2, which has attracted interest as a potential treatment for narcolepsy. To sustain alertness, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and Alkermes are developing drugs that activate orexin-2. As the industry saw a decline in investment over the last decade, Johnson & Johnson stood out as one of the few big pharmaceutical corporations that continued to be engaged in the field of neuropsychiat ..read more

Globally, hundreds of millions of poultry have lost their lives to bird flu, or highly pathogenic avian influenza. Among this group, laying hens have been the most affected, causing the prices of eggs to skyrocket in recent years. According to a statement by the Dutch government, their research has found that bird flu vaccines in laying hens have proven to be effective in practice, thereby mitigating concerns of possible transmissions from poultry to humans. These concerns have been especially rising in the U.S., where the virus has already transferred from poultry into mammals, such as dairy ..read more

When compared to docetaxel, the TROPION-Lung01 Phase III trial indicated that datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) provided numerically better overall survival (OS) outcomes in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had undergone at least one previous treatment. Although the trial achieved the dual primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) earlier, the survival outcomes for the entire patient population did not demonstrate statistical significance. Compared to docetaxel, the current standard-of-care treatment, datopotamab deruxtecan demonstra ..read more

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Bkemv by Amgen, the first biosimilar to AstraZeneca’s Soliris, used to treat a rare blood condition. Known as Bkemv in the pharmaceutical market, this medicine represents a significant advancement in providing alternatives to complex biological preparations. While its approval has positive aspects, it also includes a black box warning about the potential for severe infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis bacteria. Research showed that Amgen’s journey to approval saw the success of Bkemv in a late-stage study conducted in 2022, where it demo ..read more

Neuren Pharmaceuticals revealed key outcomes from its Phase 2 study of NNZ-2591 in kids with Pitt Hopkins syndrome (PTHS) today. Across four efficacy measures designed to assess the essential components of PTHS, clinicians and caregivers observed statistically significant improvement from baseline. Despite having a very negative impact on patients’ and their families’ lives, there are currently no approved treatments for PTHS. Neuren CEO Jon Pilcher expressed great excitement about the results of their first clinical trial with Pitt Hopkins patients. He underlined the underprivileged community ..read more

Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca have applied to the FDA for their second-generation ADC, datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd). However, the latest clinical information prevents it from achieving approval. Dato-DXd, an antibody-drug conjugate that targets TROP2, follows Enhertu and focuses on non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The application for FDA approval was submitted in February, with decisions expected by year-end. Moreover, a clinical application for HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer has also been made. The lung cancer data submission is based on the TROPION-Lung01 tria ..read more

Gerresheimer, the maker of innovative systems and solutions and a partner to the pharma, biotech, and cosmetics industries, is increasing the production capacity of medical devices like inhalers and autoinjectors in the United States. The second expansion phase involves increasing the production area at Gerresheimer’s site in Peachtree City, Georgia, USA, by about 18,000 m² (200,000 sq ft). This phase costs a total of approximately 166 million euros (USD 180 million) for the construction and equipment for the new buildings. Gerresheimer is an innovative system and solution provider and is cons ..read more

Novo Nordisk aims to be the first to launch a weekly insulin product, particularly beneficial for diabetic patients with Type 1 and Type 2 who prefer fewer injections. However, there are concerns that this new treatment may lead to hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar levels more frequently. On December 15, 2023, the FDA stated that additional data provided by Novo Nordisk represented a major amendment to the existing Biologics License Application (BLA) for insulin icodec and requested three more months for a detailed assessment. According to Novo Nordisk, the review is expected to be finalized in ..read more

Biogen is investing $1.15 billion in Chris Viehbacher’s strategy to diversify the company. The company has entered into a contract, including an upfront payment, to acquire Human Immunology Biosciences (HI-Bio), a biotechnology company in the process of developing an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody into phase 3 for various uncommon immune-mediated diseases. As soon as Viehbacher assumed the role of CEO of the Big Biotech company, he saw that the company’s concentration on neuroscience presented a challenge. Viehbacher believed that Biogen had an excessively narrow focus for a firm of its scale ..read more