GOLD looks back at some of the top pharmaceutical news stories of the past month, including industry confidence scores, landmark approvals and major projects on the horizon
Words by Jade Williams
6 September
Astellas withdraws its lawsuit against the Inflation Reduction Act after its prostate cancer drug is not included in the first list of drugs to be subjected to Medicare price negotiations.
13 September
Gallup’s latest industry reputation poll shows that the reputation of the pharma industry in the US continues to decline, particularly among Republicans. The survey found that 18% have a positive view of the industry, 60% have a negative view and 21% are neutral.
14 September
AstraZeneca agrees a £100m, 15-year partnership with Future Biogas to deliver the UK’s first unsubsidised industrial-scale supply of biomethane gas. This system will be used to supply energy to the company’s four UK manufacturing plants in its bid to become net-zero.
Astellas releases plans to invest over €330m in a new manufacturing facility in the Kerry Technology Park, Ireland. This would be the company’s third manufacturing plant in the country, with construction expected to begin in 2024 to become operational in 2028.
25 September
Eisai and Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab gains approval in Japan, the drug’s first approval outside of the US. The nation is a key market for the therapy due to its ageing population and growing dementia burden.
28 September
EFPIA critiques the European Parliament’s proposed ban on fluorinated substances, claiming that more than 600 essential medicines will be put at risk because production in the EU will “grind to a halt” within three years if a ban is implemented.
A new survey finds that 80% of HCPs don’t trust the pharmaceutical industry’s digital content, with respondents telling the digital pharma agency Graphite Digital that their main concern is the objectivity of the data provided by companies.
29 September
The US Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health announces a series of research projects totalling more than $330m to support biomedical health breakthroughs, including a cancer moonshot initiative and better health support for US citizens.
