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Trump invites high-stakes showdown with big pharma as election looms

Industry officials refused to attend a White House meeting called after Trump announced executive orders meant to revive several drug pricing proposals

UPDATED: July 28, 2020 at 11:22 a.m.

Europe secures supply of Gilead's COVID-19 drug remdesivir

For about $75 million, the European Commission will secure enough doses of the in-demand drug to treat 30,000 patients. 

US taps camera makers for help manufacturing drugs, vaccines

The Trump administration plans to loan Kodak $765 million to produce drug ingredients, one day after enlisting Fujifilm to help make coronavirus vaccines.

On eve of first big coronavirus vaccine study, trial leaders brace for 'unprecedented' task

Researchers will need millions of volunteers to find the roughly 150,000 required for the five Phase 3 trials expected this year. Here's what lies ahead for them.

AstraZeneca turns again to Daiichi Sankyo for a major cancer drug deal

The British pharma will pay Daiichi $1 billion to split rights to an experimental antibody-drug conjugate in a deal similar to the 2019 agreement that bought it the breast cancer drug Enhertu.

Moderna secures almost $500M more as it starts first large-scale US study of coronavirus vaccine

Moderna went from designing a vaccine to a Phase 3 trial in historic time. Now the biotech will test whether its shot can truly help stop coronavirus' spread.

Early coronavirus vaccine data leave many questions, but some lessons, too

More is unknown than known about the four candidates for which early results have been disclosed. But the data provide a yardstick for assessing what comes next.

Sandoz earmarks $175M to upgrade tech at European hub for antibiotics manufacturing

About a third of the money will come from the Austrian government and be put toward technology used to make the active ingredients in penicillin products.

Gilead's second act in cell therapy gets its first approval

The FDA approval of Tecartus, for mantle cell lymphoma, means two products have now emerged from Gilead's 2017 buyout of Kite Pharma.

Coronavirus vaccines speed ahead, but experts fear not everyone will take them

Gaining trust will be a tough task as public health officials gear up for one of the biggest immunization campaigns in decades. 

EQRx, gearing up for a price war with big pharma, buys two cancer drugs

The unusual startup aims to speed potential rivals to blockbuster medicines Ibrance and Tagrisso to market and price them at a "small fraction" of the cost, CEO Alexis Borisy told BioPharma Dive.

Moderna, pacing a global vaccine race, loses a key patent fight

A patent board ruled that Arbutus Biopharma invented a technology Moderna uses to deliver its vaccines, which may have implications for its industry-leading coronavirus shot. 

At a pivotal moment, Biogen loses another top executive

Just weeks after Biogen submitted its closely watched Alzheimer's drug to the FDA, the company announced its CFO Jeff Capello will depart next month.

UK to spend almost $130M more on coronavirus vaccine manufacturing

The investment will upgrade a Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult site so it can manufacture coronavirus vaccines and respond to future pandemics.

Biogen points to COVID-19 for disappointing drug launch

Sales of Vumerity, a key new product in Biogen's plan to bolster its multiple sclerosis drug business, have been slow since it launched in December.

US to pay nearly $2B for supply of Pfizer, BioNTech coronavirus vaccine

The order, which would secure 100 million doses for the U.S., is the largest made to date under the Trump administration's "Warp Speed" project.

Coronavirus vaccine developers make case to Congress they can win public's trust

While developing a safe and effective vaccine remains the chief challenge, lawmakers grilled pharma officials on how any successful shot would be fairly priced and distributed.

Oxford coronavirus vaccine spurs immune responses, appears safe on first look

The vaccine, from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, is backed with more funding from governments and non-profit groups than any other in development.

Gilead adds to string of cancer drug deals with Tizona stake

An upfront payment of $300 million gives Gilead a nearly 50% stake in Tizona Therapeutics and the exclusive option to acquire it later, depending on how promising the biotech's immunotherapy looks.

CanSino coronavirus vaccine clears mid-stage test, but data show its limits

More than half of participants in the Phase 2 study had pre-existing immunity to the cold virus CanSino uses for its shot, weakening the vaccine's effects.

Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine gets boost from German data

As the race to bring a vaccine to market accelerates, the companies unveiled new clinical results and a deal that promises the U.K. 30 million doses of a successful shot.

GSK invests in mRNA vaccines through deal with CureVac

While CureVac's coronavirus work is excluded from the deal, GSK said the biotech's platform should complement its existing vaccine technology and provide greater access to manufacturing.

Biogen to study use of key SMA drug after Novartis gene therapy

A planned trial is meant to test whether Spinraza can further help infants and young children who have already received Zolgensma, which, in theory, is meant to be curative if given very early on.

A startup launches with big plans to develop antibody drugs for coronaviruses

Larger drugmakers like Regeneron have led the way in developing antibody drugs for COVID-19. Adagio Therapeutics aims to prove it can follow suit, with an eye to future coronavirus outbreaks as well.

Sanofi, on the lookout for acquisitions, may have spotted a target

A Bloomberg report names Principia Biopharma, a biotech with an existing partnership with Sanofi, among the U.S. companies that the French pharma is evaluating for possible deals.