AstraZeneca and MSD announced positive results from their phase 3 PROfound trial for Lynparza in treating men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), who have homologous recombination repair gene mutation (HRRm) and had treatment with other anticancer drugs.Results from the trial showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in the primary e
Korea Pharmaceutical Traders Association (KPTA) said it would open a large-scale international pharmaceutical exhibition, “CPhI (Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients) Korea 2019,” in Seoul on Aug. 21.Two-hundred-and-twenty companies firms (129 foreign, 91 domestic) from 18 countries have registered for the association’s sixth annual event, which has invited more than 5,300 pharmaceutical e
Athenex, Hanmi’s U.S. partner, presented the topline data showing that Oraxol, an oral anti-cancer drug, met the primary efficacy endpoint with statistically significant improvement over IV paclitaxel in a phase 3 study in metastatic breast cancer.The company enrolled a total of 402 typical metastatic breast cancer patients in the study -- 265 in the Oraxol group and 137 in the IV paclitax
Daewoong Pharmaceutical's launch of Jeuveau, its botulinum toxin (BTX) product, in the U.S. may overshadow the $63 billion merger between the two multinational pharmaceutical giants, AbbVie and Allergan.The AbbVie-Allergan merger comes at a time when the AbbVie's shares plunged 21 percent in the past six months with its market cap falling to $107.5 billion.It is no secret that Botox is
Eli Lilly said its anticancer drug Verzenio showed an improvement in overall survival when used with fulvestrant for the treatment of hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer. Verzenio is the first CDK (cyclin-dependent kinase) 4/6 inhibitor to show such progress, the company said.Lilly Korea applied for th
Eli Lilly Korea said that Verzenio (Ingredient: Abemaciclib) demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall survival in phase 3 MONARCH 2 clinical trial.The MONARCH 2 trial evaluated Verzenio in combination with fulvestrant for the treatment of women with hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) advanced or metastatic breas
ISU Abxis will present its phase 1 clinical trial data for ISU104, an Erb-B2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinase 3 (ErbB3) target anti-cancer drug, at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2019 from Sep. 27 to Oct. 1.The company said it plans to reveal the results of part 1 of the ISU104 phase 1 clinical trial for the first time through a poster discussion session.“Unlike regular poster se
Crystal Genomics said that it has signed an agreement with PRA Health Science, a contract research organization, to conduct clinical trials into CG-549, an antibiotics candidate against super bacteria.Under the accord, PRA will conduct a bridge study on changing the formulation of CG-549 from a capsule-form to a tablet-form.PRA plans to conduct the study in Europe to determine the optimal
Korean offshoots of Japanese pharmaceutical companies are worrying that the boycott of Japanese drugs, sparked by Tokyo’s removal of Korea from the list of trusted trading partners, could spread further to prescription drugs.On the internet, some pharmacist groups shared the list of Japanese over-the-counter (OTC) medicines to encourage the boycott. They recently uploaded the list of Japanese
Sillajen said that it believes that the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC)’s suspension recommendation for its phase 3 clinical trial for Pexa-Vec in treating liver cancer was additional data that spawned from salvation therapies.Salvation therapy refers to the use of other medicines that a physician considers when there is no first-line treatment response in clinical practice.Sil
Biopharmaceutical shares in the nation’s secondary bourse had their worst day this year on Monday.The industry saw about 10 trillion won ($8.2 billion) of its market value evaporate reeling from a recent series of bad news, such as the U.S.-China trade dispute, Japan's export regulations against Korea, and Sillajen's clinical trial suspension.According to the Korea Exchange, the Kosdaq mar
Crystal Genomics said that it has confirmed the efficacy of CG-598, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment candidate, through a pre-clinical trial.As a result of animal experiments on rats, the company observed the therapeutic effect of CG-598 in both the artificially created dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis model and dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis model.Addi
With Japan deciding to remove South Korea from the list of trusted trading partners, also known as the whitelist, local pharmacist groups are enhancing their Japanese drug boycott movement.Regional pharmacist groups in Seoul, Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province, Gyeonggi Province, and North Jeolla Province have released statements expressing an intention to boycott Japanese pharmaceutical product
Amgen won the battle against Sanofi in sales of cholesterol-lowering PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9) inhibitors in the second quarter.Although both Amgen’s Repatha (ingredient: evolocumab) and Sanofi’s Praluent (alirocumab) recorded an increase in revenue, Repatha sold over twice as much as Praluent globally in the second half.Amgen said in a report that Repatha sold
Helixmith has published a study that confirmed the efficacy of AV6-H’s, a gene therapy using adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, in treating neuromuscular disease.The company is building a portfolio for neuromuscular disorders, and AV6-H is the third candidate that the company has released following VM202 and AV1-H.Helixmith developed AV6-H by inserting the hepatocyte growth factor gene
MSD Korea’s labor and management are again in dispute over the so-called “self-assurance” program, an employee monitoring system via an external agency.The company introduced the program to check if their salespersons keep compliance because the Korean regulator last year mandated pharmaceutical firms to keep records of all the “economic benefits” given to doctors and pharmacists.MSD’s mon
Takeda Pharmaceutical Korea’s labor union said Takeda employees faced unfair changes in their jobs and roles during the merger of Takeda Korea and Shire Korea.However, Takeda Pharmaceutical Korea denied the allegation, adding that “no worker had to retire because of the merger and acquisition.” Since Takeda acquired Shire last year, their respective Korean offshoots have been merging, too.
Sillajen is in danger of aborting its phase 3 clinical trial for Pexa-Vec (trial name: PHOCUS) treating liver cancer.The company said that it was advised to suspend the clinical trials by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) which held a meeting to assess the futility of phase 3 clinical trial. The committee judges whether a candidate drug is worth developing based on whether it is
Researchers at Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) and Hanyang University have found a new anticancer principle that tempts cancer cells to die on their own.Disturbing cell ions is one of the strategies to inhibit essential cell functions. The function is also one of the main strategies used in anticancer drugs. However, the clinical applicability of disturbing cell io
Novartis Korea’s Revolade (ingredient: eltrombopag) will receive reimbursement for treating people with severe aplastic anemia who have not shown sufficient response to immunosuppressive therapy, from next Monday.Revolade treats thrombocytopenia, a rare condition where the patient has low blood platelet count.Novartis Korea has also reduced the insurance price of Revolade 25mg and 50 m