The Carlyle Group created Bidco to buy Vectura, which specializes in inhalers and works with major drugmakers from Novartis to GlaxoSmithKline. The company’s technology is used in 13 inhaled and 11 non-inhaled products, according to a statement on the deal.
Vectura also has a portfolio of treatments in development with partners, the companies said, although it’s been less successful in bringing its own drugs to market. Vectura shelved an asthma therapy in 2018 after it failed in a Phase 3 study.
The purchase is part of a wave of investment firms buying up contractors in the pharmaceutical business. With medicines becoming increasingly complex, biotechs and traditional pharma companies are relying more and more on specialists to develop and manufacture new therapies. READ MORE
By Kristin Jensen
Source: biopharmadive.com
Giovanni Caforio, the former CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, is set to become the next board chairman of Novartis, which on Tuesday proposed the pharmaceutical industry veteran as its pick to replace Joerg Reinhardt in the role next year. Reinhardt has served as Novartis’ chair since 2013 and plans to retire when his 12-year term ends in 2025.
GE HealthCare has raised the curtain on two ultrasound systems equipped with artificial intelligence programs designed to assist in diagnosing conditions in women’s health, including obstetric exams. The Voluson Signature 20 and 18 imaging systems include AI tools capable of automatically identifying and annotating measurements of fetal anatomy.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry have revealed a new sustainable method of manufacturing complex molecules that could reduce waste produced during drug production. The method published in Nature Chemistry could help to prevent severe side effects caused by drugs that can exist as enantiomers.
