Rybelsus, which works like Novo’s Ozempic and Lilly’s Trulicity, gained FDA approval in 2019 as a daily oral alternative to those two drugs, which require weekly injections. However, that initial OK was accompanied by a recommendation doctors not prescribe Rybelsus as a first-line treatment for people with diabetes who are unable to control their blood sugar levels with diet and exercise alone. Merck’s Januvia and Lilly’s Jardiance, by comparison, already held approvals for that use.
“By taking Rybelsus first, people with Type 2 diabetes, in conjunction with their care teams, are now able to utilize this medicine early in their diabetes treatment journeys,” Aaron King, a family medicine and diabetes specialist in San Antonio, Texas said in a statement from Novo Nordisk.
Rybelsus has the same active ingredient as Ozempic, but at a higher dosage and modified to aid its absorption in the stomach.
The new use for Rybelsus comes as diabetes drug competition is intensifying. In the class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists, Rybelsus is the only oral treatment, but must be taken daily, while the latest injectable drugs can be taken once a week. READ MORE
By Jonathan Gardner
Source: biopharmadive.com
CureVac and the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center have announced a co-development and licensing agreement to develop novel messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based cancer vaccines. The strategic collaboration will focus on the development of differentiated cancer vaccine candidates in selected haematological and solid tumour indications with high unmet medical needs.
FUJIFILM Corporation is planning to invest $1.2 billion to expand the planned FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, US. This news follows the organisation’s announcement of a $2 billion investment in the facility in March 2021. This additional financial boost totals the investment to over $3.2 billion, FUJIFILM confirmed.
Sanofi’s global restructuring and downsizing is now fully underway, with layoffs stretching to the company’s Belgian offices. Belgian newspaper De Tijd reports that 67 employees have been laid off at a site in Ghent and 32 jobs are on the chopping block at Sanofi’s Belgium HQ in Diegem.
