Cancer Cachexia – no time to waste

04 August, 2020

There are still no approved treatments for an age-old disease; will pharma, researchers and regulators finally work together to find a cure? One of the most visible, and potentially distressing results of late-stage cancer is to watch a patient ‘literally’ waste-away. Even if a patient retains the…

The US Biosimilar Landscape is Heating Up

10 July, 2020

The US Biosimilar Landscape is Heating Up The emergence of biosimilars has provided promise of increased cost-savings and increased patient accessibility to biologics. However, this promise has not yet been realised in the US. Following the leader To date, 27 biosimilars have been approved in the…

The Gene Therapy Revolution Has Arrived. But What’s Next?

03 July, 2020

In 1989, Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg performed the first officially approved gene transfer in humans, attempting to introduce the gene coding for resistance to neomycin in TIL cells through a retroviral-mediated gene transduction. That landmark moment provided a glimpse into the soaring therapeutic…

Managing cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

11 June, 2020

To treat or not to treat, that is the question COVID-19 has impacted all aspects of clinical care globally – no doubt. Amid monumental efforts put in place by national health systems to repurpose existing resources, infrastructure and wards as well as building new, dedicated hospitals to manage t…

COVID-19: Dissecting the therapeutic and vaccine landscape Volume II

08 June, 2020

Over the past month there have been many new developments in the race to find a COVID-19 cure. New data has been amassed for several potential therapeutics, including Gilead’s remdesivir, which demonstrated relatively modest efficacy in treating moderate and severe forms of the infection, while a l…

Hidden opportunity in a time of crisis: Rheumatology’s assets at the COVID-19 frontline

30 April, 2020

While a COVID-19 vaccine is still a significant way ahead, drugs from I&I’s Rheumatology arsenal have emerged as possible treatments for late-stage infections. Could the potential to alleviate the world’s most pressing medical problem be a hidden opportunity for some? In early March 2020, while the…

COVID-19: Dissecting the therapeutic and vaccine landscape

27 April, 2020

Anti-virals? Antibodies? Immunomodulators? Vaccines? If you have a functioning pair of eyes and ears, you will have more than likely heard some of the following verbiage in the media or directly from the US President himself – ‘hydroxychloroquine’, ‘Remdesivir’, ‘Tamiflu’ or possibly the more obscure arthr…

The Show Must Go On: Virtual conferences and primary insights

24 March, 2020

On the final day of 2019, a case of pneumonia with an unknown cause was reported by the Chinese authorities in Wuhan, Hubei province, to the World Health Organisation. As more cases slowly emerged over the coming days, the country’s National Health Commission isolated the virus causing fever and f…

Nexletol and Nexlizet approvals: a heart-warming price in a space defeated with pricing battles?

11 March, 2020

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most prevalent of all diseases and the leading cause of mortality, resulting in over $17mn deaths each year worldwide, and about 33% of all deaths in the US. Aside from following a careful diet and exercising regularly, lowering cholesterol is a key factor to…

Tumor Mutational Burden: end of the road or an uphill battle for acceptance as an immuno-oncology biomarker?

02 March, 2020

Tumor Mutational Burden: end of the road or an uphill battle for acceptance as an immuno-oncology biomarker? There has been much speculation and promise around the use of tumor mutational burden (TMB) as a potential biomarker capable of predicting immunotherapy response in oncology, but has recent…

Will PSMA-targeting diagnostics and therapeutics revolutionize Prostate Cancer care?

29 January, 2020

Prostate cancer (PC) is the fourth most common cancer worldwide, affecting approximately 1.3 million people, with approximately 1 in 9 men being diagnosed during their lifetime. Patients with localized disease typically respond well to surgery. Should the disease recur, patients are often treated…

CTAD Impressions: Is there finally going to be a disease modifying therapy approved for Alzheimer’s?

16 December, 2019

Biogen presented data at CTAD showing aducanumab met its primary endpoint in the discontinued phase 3 emerge trial at CTAD, and is now progressing through the regulatory process with the FDA There are currently no disease modifying therapies approved for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). With no way of s…

Rapid Approvals & Innovative Approaches, But Which Sickle Cell Therapies Will Offer Real Benefits?

28 November, 2019

Sickle cell disease (SCD) currently effects 100,000 patients in the US and about 1 in every 365 Black or African-American births; historically unmet need has been incredibly high with only a narrow selection of largely ineffective therapies available. November 2019 however sees a changing of the…

Key Insights from ESMO 2019

03 October, 2019

One of the big stories featured the battle between the PARP inhibitors. In ovarian cancer, Phase III clinical trial readouts has got analysts guessing how GSK, AstraZeneca and AbbVie may play it out against each other in the first-line setting. However, with AstraZeneca’s PARP readout in pancreatic c…

Two’s a crowd and three’s a party – managing a drug franchise

18 September, 2019

Do brand teams dread the idea of a drug franchise? We know the successes are there for the taking but how do you get there and avoid the slip-ups? Holding an active portfolio of drugs in a therapy area can be considered a strength for a pharmaceutical company and this goes beyond access to…

Findacure Rare Disease Showcase

13 August, 2019

Whilst, the diagnosis of a condition, is difficult for every patient and their family, the diagnosis of a rare disease has significantly greater challenges. On average, it takes patients with rare diseases, five years to gain the correct diagnosis. During this time, they will likely be routed…

Bio Asia Taiwan 2019 Highlights

02 August, 2019

The larger size of BIO Asia 2019, compared to last year, highlighted the increasing importance that global pharma and MedDev are placing on Asian markets. The conference included presentations from more than 80 industry experts including those from Silicon Valley Bank, Amazon, NVIDIA, MSD, Amgen,…