All news articles for March 2021

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FDA rebuff for Keytruda in breast cancer indication

By Jane Byrne

A couple of new developments to report in relation to Merck, known as MSD outside the US and Canada: the first being the rejection by the US FDA of the company’s application to use its anti-PD-1 therapy, Keytruda, in certain breast cancer patients.

Pic:getty/nezman

GSK to help manufacture Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

By Rachel Arthur

GSK will help manufacture up to 60 million doses of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine from its facility at Barnard Castle in the UK, with doses to be distributed in the country.

© GettyImages/stefanamer

Cytiva diagnostics design lab goes live in China

By Jane Byrne

Cytiva has opened a new diagnostics design lab in Tonglu, its manufacturing site close to Shanghai in East China, where it has been making filtration products for many years.

© GettyImages/Lars Neumann

KIYATEC flags checkpoint inhibitor response prediction milestone

By Jane Byrne

US company, KIYATEC, says a new study has shown that its immune-modified ex vivo platform can measure treatment response through direct interaction between a patient's cancer and infiltrating immune cells, and immuno-oncology agents.

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Raft of Indian pharma firms set to produce Sputnik V vaccine

By Jane Byrne

The RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, and India based, Virchow Biotech Private Limited, have today announced a partnership to produce and supply a minimum of 200 million doses of the Russia developed Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19.

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Pfizer sells biosimilars plant in China to Wuxi

By Jane Byrne

Pfizer is selling a biologics manufacturing unit in the eastern city of Hangzhou to WuXi Biologics, despite the US pharma giant having ploughed US$350m into the site in 2016 to develop biosimilars.

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UK deal sees consolidation of two players in the iPSC space

By Jane Byrne

Axol Biosciences, a UK provider of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) derived cells, media, and characterization services, has merged with Scotland based, Censo Biotechnologies, a cell biology CRO with expertise in iPSC-related technologies.

© GettyImages/Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen

Setback for Novartis drug in advanced lung cancer trial

By Jane Byrne

Novartis reported today that a clinical trial of the drug, known as canakinumab, when combined with chemotherapy agent, docetaxel, failed to extend the lives of patients with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer compared to just chemotherapy...