Rise and shine, everyone, another busy day is on the way. However, this is shaping up as a lovely day as well, despite forecasts suggesting a smattering of rain a few hours from now. For the moment, the skies are tranquil, the birds are chirping, and the official mascots are hunting for noshes on the Pharmalot campus. This calls for celebration with a cup of stimulation, and we are reaching for pecan pie — sweets for the sweet. Meanwhile, the time has come to turn to our ever-growing to-do list. Sound familiar? So here are some items of interest. Have a great day, everyone. …
Pfizer is removing Oxbryta, a pill for the treatment of sickle cell disease, from all markets globally due to high risks of severe safety events, including deaths, STAT writes. The decision is a stunning blow for a drug that was approved in 2019 and heralded as a new way to treat the inherited blood disorder. Pfizer acquired the company that made Oxbryta, a biotech called Global Blood Therapeutics, in 2022 for $5.4 billion. In a statement, Pfizer said the decision to voluntarily withdraw Oxbryta was made based on data showing the drug’s benefit no longer outweighed the risks. Data suggested the drug might increase the risk of pain crises and “fatal events.” These results “require further assessment.” The European Medicines Agency had been set to hold a hearing Thursday in light of what it said was clinical trial data showing more deaths among patients taking the drug compared to a placebo. The pill had already received a mixed reception from physicians.
A legal battle between Pfizer and Moderna over their rival Covid-19 vaccines will continue after London’s High Court on Wednesday gave Pfizer permission to take the case to the Court of Appeal, Reuters writes. Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, sued Moderna in London in September 2022, seeking to revoke two patents held by Moderna, which hit back days later alleging its own patents had been infringed. The High Court gave a mixed decision in July, ruling that one of Moderna’s two patents relating to the mRNA technology that underpinned its Covid-19 vaccine was invalid. But the court ruled another similar patent was valid and that Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty vaccine had infringed it, meaning Moderna is entitled to damages in relation to sales after March 2022. Judge Richard Meade gave Pfizer and BioNTech permission to appeal that decision.
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