Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is. Crystal clear blue skies and cool breezes are enveloping the leafy Pharmalot campus, where the official mascot is anticipating a playdate and — most important — the coffee kettle is heating up. After all, starting the day without a cup of stimulation is simply not done. So our choice today is the ever-seasonal pumpkin spice. Meanwhile, we have, once again, assembled another laundry list of interesting items as you start your own journey today. We hope all goes well and that you conquer the world. On that note, time to get cracking. Best of luck. …
Biogen named Christopher Viehbacher, who formerly ran Sanofi, as its new chief executive officer, opening a new chapter for one of the first and most successful biotechnology firms but one that has struggled since the disastrous launch of the Alzheimer’s treatment Aduhelm, STAT writes. Viehbacher, 62, will take the reins Monday, succeeding Michel Vounatsos, who announced his impending resignation in May. At Sanofi, Viehbacher was largely responsible for repositioning the staid drugmaker and for deepening its partnership with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. But he was ousted in 2014 after an embarrassingly public conflict with the Sanofi board.
Eli Lilly must pay Teva Pharmaceuticals $176.5 million after a trial to determine whether its Emgality migraine drug infringed three Teva patents, Reuters writes. A Boston federal court jury agreed with Teva that the drug violated its patent rights, which relate to its own migraine drug Ajovy. Both drugs treat migraines by employing antibodies to inhibit headache-causing peptides. The jury also found that Lilly infringed the patents willfully and rejected its argument that the patents were invalid. Lilly earned over $577 million from Emgality sales worldwide last year, while Teva made $313 million from its own drug, Ajovy. Teva sued Lilly over the patents in 2018.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted against recommending a new drug for patients hospitalized with Covid-19, ruling that a glimmer of potential life-saving benefit could not make up for a long list of questions around the main clinical trial, STAT reports. The debate centered around sabizabulin, a molecule originally put in development for cancer but repurposed during the pandemic. In April, the drug made headlines after its developer, Veru, announced that it dramatically slashed deaths in a clinical trial of severe Covid patients: Nearly half of patients on placebo died, compared to 20% on the drug.
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