Entries by Thomas Gabrielczyk

Vifor Pharma in €70m pruritus drug deal

Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma has licenced ex-US/Japanese/Korean rights to commercialise CR845 (difelikefalin) from Cara Therapeutics for the treatment of chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP).

Fighting AMR: turning the p(h)age

The rapid development of antibiotic resistance has become a major public health issue that could soon kill 10 million people annually. One promising alternative to ineffective antibiotics has been around for almost a century – bacterio­phages. The microbe-killing viruses are used in medicine in Georgia, Poland and Russia, but have been neglected by western doctors. Now pressure is mounting on global health authorities to put the option back on the table. 

Kite expands cell therapy manufacturing in Europe

CAR-T cell therapy specialist Kite Pharma, now part of Gilead Sciences, has expanded its cell therapy manufacturing footprint in Europe. A 117,000 square-foot facility in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, will be operational by 2020. 

AZ COPD drug fails in Phase III study

British drug maker AstraZeneca’s IL-5Ralpha blocker benralizumab did not reduce exacerbations significantly compared to placebo in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).