Pfizer

Pfizer Inc. said on May 10 the company will pay $11.6 billion to buy Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co., making a big bet on its ability to boost sales of the top-selling pill in a new class of migraine drugs.

Novavax

Novavax Inc.’s shares plunged nearly 20 percent in premarket trading on May 10 due to uncertainty over global demand for the company’s COVID-19 vaccine following a slow start to deliveries.

BioNTech continues to build on the success of the company’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine co-developed with Pfizer, rapidly expanding its investigational pipeline to include additional infectious diseases and oncology with a first-in-class CAR-T program in solid tumors.

Severe obesity may weaken the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in those who have never been infected with the coronavirus, according to a small Turkish study. Additionally, South African researchers have found infection with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus can significantly improve the immune system’s ability to protect against other variants, but only in people who have been vaccinated.

Despite the loss of the company’s COVID-19 antibody REGEN-COV earlier in 2022, Regeneron posted a positive first quarter driven primarily by sales of Dupixent and Eylea.

Valneva

Valneva said on May 4 the French drugmaker will conduct a trial about the use of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate VLA2001 as a booster jab following a mRNA vaccination or natural infection.

Compass Therapeutics and AstraZeneca have both provided updates to their respective clinical therapeutic programs targeting biliary tract cancers.

Novartis announced positive news for patients with metastatic breast cancer. New data showed Kisqali (ribociclib), in combination with the chemotherapy drug fulvestrant, added nearly 16 months of survival benefit to the lives of patients compared to fulvestrant alone. 

FDA sign

China-based Hutchmed failed to get the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval for the company’s proposed drug for pancreatic cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the indication of Supernus Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Qelbree (viloxazine extended-release capsules) for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adult patients aged 18 and older.