Thursday, March 5, 2026

Blackstone Puts $400M Into Teva, Sanofi Gut Disease Drug

(3/4, Jonathan Gardner, BioPharma DIVE) ..."By pursuing disciplined, capital-efficient partnerships, we are accelerating pipeline advancement while maintaining financial strength," said Evan Lippman, Teva's executive vice president for business development, in a statement... Full

Teva, Blackstone Life Sciences Enter $400M Funding Agreement for Duvakitug

(3/4, Kristin Brooks, Contract Pharma) ...Duvakitug is currently in phase 3 clinical studies for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Both companies recently announced phase 2b duvakitug maintenance data demonstrating clinically meaningful durable efficacy in UC and CD... Full

Teva and Blackstone Life Sciences Enter $400 Million Strategic Growth Capital Agreement

(3/4, Nicholas Jocaobus, PharmExec.com) ...Dr. Nicholas Galakatos, global head of Blackstone Life Sciences, cited the significant unmet need as a key driver of the investment. "Duvakitug has the potential to be a best-in-class therapy in a large and growing space," added Paris Panayiotopoulos, senior managing director at Blackstone Life Sciences... Full

Teva Bags $400M Backing From Blackstone To Advance Sanofi-Partnered Drug

(3/4, Tristan Manalac, BioSpace) ...Blackstone will disburse the funding across four years and will be eligible for regulatory and undisclosed commercial milestones associated with duvakitug, according to Teva's news release on Tuesday. Blackstone will also be entitled to receive low single-digit royalties on drug sales worldwide... Full

Standardising the Chaos: The Global Logistics Reset

(3/4, Libby Hargreaves, Supply Chain Digital) ...DP World and Teva are leveraging standardisation and AI to transform fragmented global logistics into a unified, resilient and equitable trade engine...Sangam Reddy, Group Executive Vice President of Port & Terminal Systems at DP World, and Matt Shields, Executive Vice President of Teva Global Operations, are just two of the people building it – and their frameworks for transformation are strikingly aligned... Full

Talarico's Win In Texas Senate Primary Boosts Dem Hopes, Both Parties Bring Drug-Price Focus

(3/4, Inside Health Policy) ...State Representative James Talarico's victory in the closely watched Texas Democratic Senate primary Tuesday (March 3) is fueling party hopes of expanding the map in November, with a campaign focused on lowering prescription drug costs and expanding health coverage. The Republican primary, meanwhile, is headed for a runoff between two candidates who have also emphasized drug affordability... Sub. Req’d

Industry Urging Pfizer CEO To Fight MFN Codification Even As Deals Not Yet Finalized

(3/4, Maaisha Osman, Inside Health Policy) ...Some companies' "most favored nation" deals with the Trump administration to sell their drugs at lower prices in exchange for exemptions from tariffs are not yet finalized, Pfizer and Eli Lilly disclosed in their recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The disclosure that key details of the deals remain unsettled comes as Pfizer's CEO faces criticism from other drug makers for not taking a firmer stance against codifying the agreements, even as he draws headlines for his attacks on FDA leadership... Sub. Req’d

MFN Drug Pricing Policy Forces Companies To Rethink Selling Ex-US Rights

(3/4, Mandy Jackson, Pink Sheet) ...Panelists said during a March 2 discussion about balancing global opportunities and trade policy risks at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization's Investor and Growth Summit said companies that previously planned to out-license ex-US rights for their drugs no longer are considering the deals. Companies also are grappling with how to launch drugs independently in Europe due to the uncertainty of MFN drug pricing, putting an important growth opportunity at risk... Global Sub. Full

A Month In, TrumpRx Falls Short of President's Grand Promises

(3/5, Daniel Payne, STAT) ..."Some are going to benefit, and others — probably the majority — won't," Michelle Long, senior policy manager for KFF's Program on Patient and Consumer Protections, said of TrumpRx. "Is it the greatest thing in the health care world? Clearly no." In response to questions from STAT, administration officials declined to offer details on the number of new drugs expected to be added, when that may happen, or on how many people have used the site... Full

Harmful U.S. Policies Will Help Drive China's Global Leadership in Biopharmaceutical Innovation

(3/4, Hannah Loiacono, PhRMA Blog) ...Policymakers must reject harmful price-setting policies, like Most-Favored-Nation drug pricing, that will undermine American leadership in biopharmaceutical innovation and erode the vital benefits this leadership provides... Full

Pharmaceutical Tariffs Would Add Costs and Reduce Innovation

(3/4, Erica York, Alex Durante, Tax Foundation) ...Higher tariff costs could have differing impacts on American consumers. In some instances, the tariff costs could be passed forward in the form of higher prices for consumers, but in others, the burden may be hidden in the form of lower wages, lower investment, and less innovation... Full

Leveraging the USMCA to Strengthen Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Supply Chains in North America

(3/4, William Padula, Brookings) ...In this context, strengthening the resilience, competitiveness, and equity of North America's pharmaceutical sector is not only an economic imperative but also a test of the credibility of USMCA as a framework for regional cooperation... Full

Novo Nordisk Joins Lilly In Seeking More 340B Hospital Claims Data

(3/4, Gabrielle Wanneh, Inside Health Policy) ...In an announcement of the policy Monday (March 2), Novo Nordisk notes that since 2023, the company has been collecting claims level data from certain covered entities, which it says has provided necessary transparency for 340B program integrity and has been key to the company's ability to remedy program noncompliance by exercising its right to initiate audits... Sub. Req’d

Small, Mid-Size Firms Not Feeling GENEROUS? CMS Pursues MFN Model Participation

(3/4, Cathy Kelly, Pink Sheet) ...The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services appears to be facing resistance from small and mid-size manufacturers wary about voluntarily participating in the GENEROUS payment model, which will test Most Favored Nation pricing in Medicaid...CMS disputed the notion that smaller companies are not interested in the demo... Sub. Req'd

F.D.A. Faces Upset Over Denials of New Drugs

(3/5, Christina Jewett, The New York Times) ...But the agency has increasingly issued drug rejections or refusals — about 20 in the last eight months — that underscore a break from decades of general stability in the F.D.A.'s top ranks across several presidential administrations. It has advised companies to launch costly and complex studies that could add years to finding treatments for rare diseases with no cure... Full

Standardized 12-Digit NDC Transition Not As Long As Industry Hoped

(3/4, Cathy Kelly, Pink Sheet) ...Under a final rule released March 4, NDCs also will convert to a standardized sequence of three segments: a six-digit labeler code, a four-digit product code, and a two-digit package code. Each segment currently varies in the number of digits. The seven-year implementation period will allow stakeholders that rely on NDCs time to establish or upgrade the systems needed to handle the changes, the rule states... Global Sub. Full

Ga. Bill Targets Pharmacy Benefit Managers Over Drug Pricing

(3/4, Abby Kousouris, WRDW) ...House Bill 810 would set a ceiling preventing PBMs from charging above a national market price, set a floor so they cannot pay pharmacies less than the cost of a drug, and add a roughly $10 to $11 dispensing fee to help pharmacies cover costs... Full

FDA Official Says UniQure Fell Short on Huntington's Trial, Defends New Study Request

(3/4, Reuters) ...UniQure's trial design for its gene therapy for Huntington's disease did not offer sufficient proof that the drug slowed disease progression, a top U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said on Wednesday, while defending the agency's call for a new placebo-controlled study. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the FDA has historically rejected studies that are not randomized and placebo-controlled when considering how to approve potential Huntington's disease treatments... Sub. Req’d

Ublituximab Demonstrates Sustained Benefit for Relapsing MS in Interim Open-Label Analysis

(3/5, Isabella Hornick, Healio) ...Among adults with relapsing MS who received ublituximab, the annualized relapse rate continued to drop with up to 5 years of treatment, according to an interim open-label extension study analysis published in JAMA Neurology... Full

Pfizer's Oncology R&D Strategy: Jeff Legos on Speed, Breadth and Novel Combinations

(3/4, Angus Liu, Fierce Biotech) ...After steering positive key pivotal readouts for a trio of Novartis' blockbusters—Kisqali, Pluvicto and Scemblix—[Jeff] Legos is now tasked with fleshing out Pfizer's $43 billion Seagen acquisition into an antibody-drug conjugate empire while accelerating a PD-1xVEGF bispecific licensed from 3SBio toward 2028 readouts... Full

FDA Approves First Generic Fluticasone Propionate Inhaler, Boosting Affordable Asthma Care

(3/4, Pearl Steinzor, AJMC) ...The FDA has authorized the first generic version of fluticasone propionate (Flovent HFA; GSK) inhalation aerosol, marking a promising development in asthma treatment access... Full

Aurobindo Arm Launches Pomalidomide Generic in US, Adds to Oncology Line

(3/4, Anjali Singh, Business Standard) ...The product, launched in strengths of 1 mg, 2 mg, 3 mg, and 4 mg, is the generic equivalent of Pomalyst capsules marketed by Bristol Myers Squibb. Eugia Pharma was among the first-to-file (FTF) [ANDA] applicants for the product, a status that can offer a period of market exclusivity for generic drugmakers... Full

Johnson & Johnson Launches Website for Direct-to-Consumer Sales

(3/4, Reuters) ...The website, called J&J Direct , lists three drugs: diabetes treatments Invokana and Invokamet and blood thinner Xarelto... Full

Merck KGaA Sees Earnings Drop on Currency Effects, MS Drug

(3/5, Reuters) ...This year's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for special items, would likely be between 5.5 billion and 6.0 billion euros ($6.4 to $7 billion), it said in a statement on Thursday. Analysts were expecting profit to reach 5.9 billion euros in 2026 – near the upper end of the guidance range... Full

Bayer Looking at Another Year of 'Resilience' Before Growth Kicks in Behind Nubeqa, Kerendia

(3/4, Kevin Dunleavy, Fierce Pharma) ...The primary growth drivers in Bayer's pharma sector—Nubeqa and Kerendia—are performing even better than the company anticipated and their momentum is expected to continue in 2026. But that won't lead to growth of Bayer's pharma business overall this year as two contraction drivers—Xarelto and Eylea—are working in the opposite direction... Full

GoodRx, Rivals Chase Employers as Pharmacy Benefit Sector Shifts

(3/4, Noah Tong, Modern Healthcare) ..."What GoodRx is trying to build on is the fact that they can be that effective partner within the infrastructure that exists right now, so that as PBMs try to change the narrative for themselves on the value they derive, that GoodRx is part of the solution," said Michael Cherny, a senior managing director at the investment bank Leerink Partners... Sub. Req’d

Wide Disparities Found in Hospitals' Drug Prices

(3/5, Adriel Bettelheim, Axios) ...Hospital pricing remains opaque, and it's possible for the same drug at the same hospital to have a dozen different prices on the same day, according to the findings prepared for the nonprofit Patient Rights Advocate and provided first to Axios... Full

Urgent Warning Over Shortages of ‘Very Popular' Medicines - Patients Told Act Now

(3/4, Hanna Geissler, Express) ...Medicine shortages are "not getting better" with the list of affected drugs continuing to grow, a pharmacy leader has warned. Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, warned that chemists were consistently seeing common items "all of a sudden shooting up in price and becoming very difficult to obtain". She added: "When they start going short in stock, the prices shoot up, leaving pharmacists out of pocket and many unable to buy these because they're not getting reimbursed... Full

What Will Change in Canada When Generic Ozempic Hits the Market, According to Our Reporters

(3/4, Kelly Grant and Chris Hannay, The Globe and Mail) ...Readers asked about the side effects of GLP-1s, hitting weight-loss goals on different drugs and when major insurance companies will cover weight-loss drugs. Here are some highlights from the Q&A... Sub. Req’d

Breaking Down The Pharmaceutical Regulatory (R)evolution With Medicines For Europe

(3/5, Urte Fultinaviciute, Generics Bulletin) ...The halls at the recent Medicines for Europe's Regulatory Affairs Conference 2026 buzzed with attendees from across the region, who were eager to hear all about the upcoming changes to the sector's regulations. Indeed, the revised pharmaceutical legislation, which will mark one of the biggest updates in two decades, is nearly here... Global Sub. Full

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