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While many companies are still unsure of the law’s effects, some have begun to warn investors about the likelihood of lower sales and reduced profitability...Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are still parsing the U.S. drug pricing law enacted in August, but recently have begun to warn investors of looming impacts to their development plans and to future sales...In regulatory filings and earnings calls over the past few weeks, major drugmakers described significant uncertainty over how the law will be implemented and how it might directly affect their business. But some have been more specific, with Merck & Co. and Amgen noting they expect it to impact future sales. And a few, including Eli Lilly, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Alkermes, have cited the law specifically in decisions to cut back or reshape their drug research...READ MORE

Saliva and oral bacteria from 30 UNLV dental clinic patients will blast off...in a rocket bound for the International Space Station...UNLV researchers from the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering and School of Dental Medicine are partnering with NASA and Colgate-Palmolive to study the growth of oral bacteria in space and to see if Colgate’s oral care products are effective in a microgravity environment...Two of the UNLV researchers involved with the project Jeffrey Ebersole, associate dean for research at the School of Dental Medicine, and mechanical engineering research scientist Shengjie Zhai will be on site...for the rocket launch...READ MORE

CPI, one of the founding partners in the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, has announced the signing of an agreement with PwC, making the company the latest partner in the collaborative effort. The Centre (established via a partnership among CPI, the University of Strathclyde, UK Research and Innovation, Scottish Enterprise and founding industry partners AstraZeneca and GSK) seeks to promote more innovative drug manufacturing processes and enable a more agile supply chain...PwC and the existing partners will work to maximize technological opportunities across the pharma supply chain. Efforts include...projects, intended to advance emergent and disruptive technologies. The program is partially funded by Innovate UK through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and Scottish Enterprise via the Scottish Government...READ MORE

Cancer cells could play a key role in the delivery of tumor-fighting drugs, thanks to a new DNA transport system that keeps its therapeutic payload locked away until it comes into contact with diseased cells...Scientists at the Technical University of Munich and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology...say they’ve developed a synthetic DNA transport system for targeted delivery of cancer drugs...the team has created a nano-carrier using mucin, glycerol and synthetic DNA, which wraps up cancer drugs in a secure package that can only be unlocked by a certain RNA sequence unique to diseased cells...READ MORE

Researchers have created a new open-access database of information on drug candidates and how they are metabolised by the body, which could help speed up the repurposing of old drugs as new treatments...the process of developing new drugs is costly, can take decades, and often leads to failed treatments. The database, called NICEdrug.ch and described today in eLife, may help expedite the process by helping scientists find promising, existing drugs that might be repurposed...READ MORE

The search for novel therapies has long been a trial-and-error process that costs drug companies a vast amount of time and money. Now, with artificial intelligence (AI) set to transform the pharmaceutical industry more than any other emerging technology, a growing number of pharma and biotech groups are harnessing the cutting-edge tech to minimise the hit-and-miss nature of R&D and discover new therapies with previously impossible speed and accuracy...READ MORE

Three leaders from pharma ingredients and innovation firm Lonza share views on challenges and opportunities likely to face the industry in coming months...It likely is safe to say no professionals in drug development and manufacturing has a reliable crystal ball that can provide a crystal-clear picture of exactly what will happen in the coming 12 months. However, seasoned and savvy professionals can offer educated opinions, and advice on preparing for what might lie ahead...To get a clearer perspective on what 2021 might have in store for the pharma field, Outsourcing-Pharma (OSP) checked in with three Lonza executives, asking their thoughts on 2020 as well as the new year...READ MORE

Medicare Part D spent $2.6 billion more in 2018 on generic drugs compared to Costco, likely due to the inefficient distribution system...The study published...in the Journal of the American Medical Association focuses on how intermediaries in the generic drug supply chain may be driving up costs for Medicare. In 2018, 88% of Medicare Part D prescriptions were for generic drugs, the study said...“Our analysis highlighted the inefficiencies the current system introduces through its complex and opaque system of intermediaries, which Costco largely bypasses,”...READ MORE

Social distancing and lockdowns may have reduced the spread of COVID-19, but researchers from Penn State College of Medicine also report those actions may have affected clinical researchers' ability to finish trials. Study completion rates dropped worldwide between 13% and 23%..."The pandemic has made it more difficult for researchers to recruit and follow up on patients in clinical trials," said Hawila, a research assistant from the Department of Public Health Sciences. "This analysis revealed that the impact was substantial -- particularly for trials funded by government, academic or medical entities."...READ MORE

Patients are asking to join clinical trials of antibody-based COVID-19 drugs after U.S. President Donald Trump was treated last week with an experimental therapy from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc...Medical experts said more data is needed to assess the treatment’s efficacy before wider use should be allowed...The company said...that it has submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization for its antibody combination...READ MORE