Major pharmaceutical firms started the new year by hiking the prices of hundreds of drugs, according to a new study published by Rx Savings Solutions. First reported in The Wall Street Journal, the study found that the average price increase taken by more than three dozen companies was roughly 6.3%. Allergan (NYSE:AGN) topped the list, raising the […]
Eli Lilly & Co.
FDA warns of flesh-eating genital infection linked to diabetes drug
The FDA this week warned of serious flesh-eating bacterial infections, or necrotizing fasciitis, reported by patients taking sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors intended for treating type 2 diabetes. The federal watchdog said that between March 2013 and May 2018, 12 cases of Fournier’s gangrene, a rare but life-threatening bacterial infection of the tissue under the skin […]
How Insulet’s CEO plans to create a billion-dollar business
When Pat Sullivan joined Insulet (NSDQ:PODD) in 2014, the Billerica, Mass.-based company was reeling in roughly $300 million in revenue selling its Omnipod tubless insulin delivery system. Sullivan, a veteran of the medtech industry, saw a path to creating a billion-dollar company and it centered around the concept of making life easier for people with diabetes. […]
Eli Lilly touts data for concentrated insulin delivered via Insulet’s Omnipod tech
Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) touted data this week from a Phase III study evaluating its Humulin R U-500 concentrated insulin delivered via Insulet‘s (NSDQ:PODD) investigational Omnipod U-500 device. The company reported that people with Type II diabetes taking Humulin R U-500 using the Omnipod device experienced greater A1c reductions and needed less daily insulin compared to adults […]
Beta Bionics wins FDA nod for home-use trial of artificial pancreas tech
Beta Bionics said this week that it won FDA approval to start recruiting patients with Type I diabetes for home-use studies of its iLet bionic pancreas system. The trial is slated to test Novo Nordisk’s fast-acting insulin, Fiasp, with the company’s autonomous infusion pump in adults with Type I diabetes. The study will also evaluate […]
With groundbreaking approval, Amgen launches new class of medicine for migraine patients
Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) won FDA approval this week for its once-monthly Aimovig injection designed to prevent the onset of migraines in adults. The drug is the first of its kind – a molecule that blocks the receptor for a protein that is linked to migraine pain, the calcitronin gene-related peptide. Other major pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) […]
HHS secretary calls on drug companies to ‘stop the price hikes’
After President Donald Trump’s drug pricing speech last week was deemed a “non-event” by analysts, all eyes turned to the secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Alex Azar, to see what the former pharma executive viewed as the administration’s top concerns. Azar called on the industry to “stop the price hikes” […]
Eli Lilly inks $63m deal with Sigilon to develop encapsulated cell therapies for diabetes
Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) plans to put $473 million on the table to fund a collaboration with Cambridge, Mass.-based startup Sigilon Therapeutics, the insulin-maker reported today. The goal of the newly-established partnership is to develop encapsulated cell therapies to treat Type I diabetes. In patients who suffer from Type I diabetes, pancreatic beta cells are killed off […]
Dexcom CEO on ‘treading new ground’ with G6 glucose monitor
Kevin Sayer sold his first glucose sensor in 1994. More than twenty years later, the chief executive of Dexcom (NSDQ:DXCM) still believes that glucose-monitoring technology can transform the way patients manage their diabetes. This week, Dexcom won FDA approval for its latest continuous glucose monitor. The G6 system is the first of the company’s that does […]
Japan approves Novo Nordisk’s once-weekly Type II diabetes drug
The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare gave Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) the green light to market its once-weekly type II diabetes drug, Ozempic, Reuters reported today. The pharma company’s drug, semaglutide, is a glucagon-like peptide-1 analog that mimics an intestinal hormone to trigger insulin production in people with diabetes. Novo Nordisk expects to launch Ozempic in Japan in […]
