While teplizumab has the potential to be a new type of diabetes medicine, it’s had a checkered past, and the contingencies in the deal with Sanofi reflect that. In 2010, Eli Lilly and partner MacroGenics were developing the drug and decided to shelve it after a study failed to reduce insulin use in patients with recent-onset Type 1 diabetes.
Provention got interested as continuing academic studies suggested benefits for the drug and bought the rights in 2018. By 2019, the purchase seemed like a good bet as researchers published a study in The New England Journal of Medicine that found the drug could delay the onset of disease with a single 14-day course of treatment.
The trial included 76 relatives of Type 1 diabetes patients who were themselves at high risk of developing the disease. Many of the patients went on to be diagnosed with the condition, but the median time to diagnosis for patients taking teplizumab was four years, compared with two years in the placebo group. READ MORE
By Kristin Jensen
Sourc: 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.
