Hints and tips:
...Shares in oncology-focused biotech Seagen, which Pfizer has agreed to buy for $43bn, also fell amid fears the agency could target other deals in the sector....
...The US drugmaker was reportedly in talks with oncology-focused Seagen about a potential deal last year but did not move forward with a transaction....
...Chasing up false positives could also cost health systems money and cause stress for patients, said Pharoah, adding that much more comprehensive studies were required before rollout....
...Merck focuses on immunotherapy, helping the body’s own immune system to fight cancer cells....
...Alexion specialises in “complement biology”, creating drugs that control this important part of the immune system when it overreacts and causes diseases that can damage tissues....
...Revenue last year from oncology was up more than 20 per cent from the year before to $10.9bn....
...It is known as a parp inhibitor, targeting a weakness in the cancer’s DNA repair system....
...Among its top priorities will be oncology research. The company is working on 15 candidates for cancer therapies and has also vowed to devote resources to developing malaria and tuberculosis vaccines....
...When AstraZeneca announced the deal last year, chief executive Pascal Soriot said it would strengthen the UK-based drugmaker’s position in the US, where it has been growing, especially in oncology....
...It has no native vaccine business, focusing instead on R&D in such areas as oncology....
...Mr Davis said he looked forward to steering the company through the coming launch of a pneumonia vaccine, as well as more oncology treatments....
...German health group Siemens Healthineers said it would acquire Varian Medical Systems in a deal that values the US maker of devices and software for cancer treatments at $16.4bn....
...For Gilead this would be the third blockbuster oncology-focused deal in three years....
...Immuno-oncology, developing drugs that harness the immune system to fight tumours, has emerged as a major focus for Big Pharma in recent years....
...Gilead made a net loss of $3.3bn, swinging to the red because of a $4.5bn charge related to its deal to buy Forty Seven, a biotech specialising in immuno-oncology — using the immune system to fight cancer...
...is being inoculated, mRNA vaccines provided “a way to let the patient produce his or her own drug”, by simply sending instructions that can be read by cellular machinery, says Christoph Huber, an immuno-oncology...
...“We understand that it’s important to get confidence around the system.”...
...“This agreement builds on Gilead’s presence in immuno-oncology and adds significant potential to our clinical pipeline,” said Daniel O’Day, Gilead’s chief executive....
...The acquisition comes after Merck’s success with Keytruda, a blockbuster drug that harnesses the immune system to fight cancer....
...It was followed by Pfizer’s $11.4bn purchase of oncology specialist Array BioPharma and Eli Lilly’s $8bn buyout of Loxo Oncology....
...The targeted therapy known as a checkpoint inhibitor enables a body’s own immune system to fight cancer....
...AstraZeneca Plc has made a preliminary approach to rival drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc. about a potential merger, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be the biggest health-care deal...
...The second is how long the buzz about cutting-edge oncology can convince insurers and healthcare systems to pay bills that are already high and may rise higher....
...including in oncology . . . and inflammation . . . as well as through more acquisitions and in-licensing deals”....
...Bristol had established a commanding early lead in the fiercely competitive race to develop immunotherapies, which unleash the immune system so it can attack cancer as it does other diseases....
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