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Merck spinoff Organon completes Alydia Health acquisition

Merck (NYSE: MRK) spinoff Organon (NYSE:OGN) today announced the completion of its acquisition of Alydia Health for up to $240 million.

Alydia Health develops treatments centered around preventing maternal morbidity and mortality caused by postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) or abnormal postpartum uterine bleeding. The company designed its Jada system to control and treat abnormal postpartum uterine bleeding or hemorrhage when conservative management is warranted.

Jersey City, N.J.-based Organon announced an agreement for the acquisition in March. Total consideration amounts to $240 million, including a $215 million cash payment, of which Merck paid $50 million upon signing. Organon paid the remaining $165 million at closing and the final $25 million will potentially arrive as a contingent milestone payment.

“Organon’s acquisition of Alydia Health expands our portfolio into the medical device category and underscores our commitment to identify options for women’…

Pfizer’s Prevnar 20 vaccine wins FDA approval

Pfizer’s (NSE:PFE) pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine Prevnar 13 is one of pharma’s bestsellers, earning nearly $6 billion last year.

Now, the company has scored FDA approval for its Prevnar 20 vaccine for adults 18 and older.

The vaccine is the first to offer protection against 20 serotypes of pneumococcal disease that cause the majority of pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease. In addition to the capsular polysaccharide conjugates already included in Prevnar 13, the new vaccine adds conjugates for seven different serotypes linked with invasive pneumococcal disease, antibiotic resistance and meningitis.

“With a single injection, Prevnar 20 provides adults with strong and meaningful protection against serotypes responsible for the majority of circulating pneumococcal disease around the world,” said Kathrin U. Jansen, senior vice president and head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer, in a statement.

Pfizer oversaw Phase 1 and…

COVID-19 treatments will continue to lift pharma sector, according to Moody’s

Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels

The pandemic has eased throughout much of the world. But demand for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments continues to be brisk, according to ratings agency Moody’s. In general, the pandemic will contribute to the pharmaceutical industry’s projected EBITDA growth rate of 4% to 6% over the coming 12 to 18 months, the firm concluded.

While a significant number of vaccines and antivirals are already in use, more will likely win regulatory authorization in the coming months. But the volume of future COVID-19 therapy sales will hinge upon “how the pandemic evolves,” the Moody’s report acknowledged.

Other factors driving growth include growing healthcare use as countries such as the U.S. continue to lift COVID-19 restrictions.

Oncology, one of the most rapidly growing pharma areas, is likely to continue its growth trajectory. Moody’s expects immuno-onco…

U.S. to buy nearly 2 million courses of Merck’s COVID-19 antiviral treatment

Merck (NYSE:MRK) announced today that it entered into an agreement to supply the U.S. government with its molnupiravir (MK-4482) for treating COVID-19.

Molnupiravir, developed through a collaboration between Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is currently under evaluation in a Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of non-hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection and at least one risk factor associated with poor disease outcomes.

Get the full story at our sister site, Pharmaceutical Processing World.

U.S. to buy nearly 2 million courses of Merck’s COVID-19 antiviral treatment

Merck (NYSE:MRK) announced today that it entered into an agreement to supply the U.S. government with its molnupiravir (MK-4482) for treating COVID-19.

Molnupiravir, developed through a collaboration between Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is currently under evaluation in a Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of non-hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection and at least one risk factor associated with poor disease outcomes.

The orally bioavailable form of a potent ribonucleoside analog inhibits the replication of multiple RNA viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, the companies say. Molnupiravir has shown to be active in several models of SARS-CoV-2, including for prophylaxis, treatment and prevention of transmission.

Kenilworth, N.J.-based Merck’s agreement with the U.S. government stipulates that, should molnupiravir receive FDA emergency use authorization (EUA), Merck will pick up approximat…

10 of the best pharma companies to work for

The pharmaceutical industry is on the upswing and is poised to have a compound annual growth rate of 13.7% from 2020 to 2027, according to projections from Grand View Research.

The industry’s resurgence is a good opportunity for employees in the sector, who frequently enjoy comfortable salaries.

To get a sense of which pharmaceutical companies in the sector were the best employers, we sifted through data on company reviews sites Glassdoor and Comparably, and other sources.

Here are the 10 companies that came in on top:

Get the full story from our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

10 of the best pharma companies to work for

The pharmaceutical industry is on the upswing and is poised to have a compound annual growth rate of 13.7% from 2020 to 2027, according to projections from Grand View Research.

The industry’s resurgence is a good opportunity for employees in the sector, who frequently enjoy comfortable salaries.

To get a sense of which pharmaceutical companies in the sector were the best employers, we sifted through data on company reviews sites Glassdoor and Comparably, and other sources.

Here are the 10 companies that came in on top.

Get the full story from our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

And browse data on all the Pharma 50 companies here.

10 of the best pharma companies to work for

The pharmaceutical industry is on the upswing and is poised to have a compound annual growth rate of 13.7% from 2020 to 2027, according to projections from Grand View Research.

The industry’s resurgence is a good opportunity for employees in the sector, who frequently enjoy comfortable salaries.

To get a sense of which pharmaceutical companies in the sector were the best employers, we sifted through data on company reviews sites Glassdoor and Comparably, and other sources.

Below are the 10 companies that came in on top. (And browse data on all the Pharma 50 companies here.)

1. Sage Therapeutics

Glassdoor rating: 4.4/5 83% would recommend to a friend

Pros: Workers at Sage Therapeutics applauded the company’s work-life balance and culture. Just under three-quarters (74%) had a positive business outlook for the firm. One recent reviewer found meaning in “doing the toughest job in the world by developing CNS drugs.” The company’s brain health p…

Merck facing off with Pfizer with pneumococcal vaccines

Pfizer’s (NSE:PFE) pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine Prevnar 13 brought in $5.85 billion last year, but Merck (NYSE:MRK) is hoping to increase its presence in the market with its investigational 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Although Merck has a pneumococcal vaccine on the market known as Pneumovax 23, its sales were $1.1 billion last year. While technically a blockbuster, Pneumovax 23’s sales were only about one-fifth of Prevnar 13’s.

Merck announced that its V114 investigational 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine hit its primary immunogenicity and safety endpoints in two trials.

The company says the data potentially supports the use of the vaccine in healthy infants who have previously started immunization with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, who are vaccine-naïve or previously had received lower valency pediatric pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.

“At Merck, our goal is to expand coverage to new serotypes no…

50 of 2020’s best-selling pharmaceuticals

Drug sales in 2020 proved more resilient than many experts anticipated in the early days of the pandemic. Still, the impact on many injectable drugs was tangible in the first half of the year as hospitals initially dissuaded patients from seeking in-person treatment. But sales were generally strong for the full year.

AbbVie’s injectable biologic Humira brought in nearly $20 billion in sales in 2020, with $16 billion in the U.S. alone. A year earlier, sales of the drug were $19.17 billion.

Get the full story from our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

Pharma’s top 20 R&D spenders in 2020

[Lab image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay]The past year has been an unprecedented time for the pharmaceutical industry.

On the one hand, the pandemic resulted in substantial delays to clinical trials while also forcing sponsors to rethink clinical trial design to protect participants. But on the other hand, the pandemic underscored the importance of the pharma industry in society.

While the pandemic certainly was a driver for substantial R&D spending in the industry in 2020, a significant expense for many companies last year was licensing fees and other acquisition costs. That trend is not just apparent for Incyte, which tops this list, but also for several other companies in this ranking of 20 firms, which are ranked below based on the percent of revenue they invest in R&D. (To find out the top 50 pharma companies, check out our recently published ranking here.)

Get the full picture from our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

Pharma’s top 20 R&D spenders in 2020

[Lab image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay]

The past year has been an unprecedented time for the pharmaceutical industry.

On the one hand, the pandemic resulted in substantial delays to clinical trials while also forcing sponsors to rethink clinical trial design to protect participants. But on the other hand, the pandemic underscored the importance of the pharma industry in society.

While the pandemic certainly was a driver for substantial R&D spending in the industry in 2020, a significant expense for many companies last year was licensing fees and other acquisition costs. That trend is not just apparent for Incyte, which tops this list, but also for several other companies in this ranking of 20 firms, which are ranked below based on the percent of revenue they invest in R&D. (To find out the top 50 pharma companies, check out our recently published ranking here.)