The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Sanofi’s Dupixent (dupilumab) 300 mg weekly to treat patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) aged 12 years and older, weighing at least 40 kg. With this approval, Dupixent is the first and only medicine specifically indicated to treat EoE in the United States.

Bristol Myers Squibb shared the news that the company’s Phase III clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of Opdivo and Yervoy combination therapy (NCT03036098) in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma failed to meet the predetermined primary endpoint. A posthoc analysis was shared by Synairgen suggesting that, despite SNG001 failing to meet the primary endpoint of patient recovery and subsequent hospital discharge in a Phase III study for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who required supplemental oxygen treatment, they may benefit from receiving the treatment.

Insulin

The Arkansas attorney general on May 11 accused drugmakers and pharmacy benefit managers of colluding to drive up the price of insulin drugs, the latest in a series of lawsuits to take aim at skyrocketing costs for the life-sustaining medicine.

Roche

The fresh blow to Roche’s hopes in a closely watched class of cancer immunotherapies cast a long shadow across the crowded field on May 11, but the latest setback is not the end of the road for these oncology treatments, analysts say.

Although 2020 was a tough year for the biopharma industry — and most other industries as well — it appeared to rebound significantly in mid-2021. However, biotech stocks are generally getting hammered during 2022, although to be fair, the entire stock market is down.

AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s breast cancer therapeutic Enhertu received supplemental approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Enhertu was approved for treating adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received a prior anti-HER2-based regimen either in the metastatic setting or in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting and have developed disease recurrence during or within six months of completing therapy.

AstraZeneca’s proposed treatment for heart disease delivered positive high-level results from the company’s Phase III DELIVER trial.

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.

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. 

Teva

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries believes the company would have to pay around $2.6 billion in cash and medicine to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging the world’s largest generic firm and other drug manufacturers fueled the U.S. opioid epidemic.