Orexigen Therapeutics  has submitted the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Contrave, an investigational weight-loss drug to the European Medicines Agency (EMA).  The La Jolla, CA-based  drug firm is using the EMA's centralised procedure to seek approval for Contrave  Orexigen (32 mg naltrexone sustained release ...

Teva Pharmaceutical said the a newly published Phase III exploratory analysis suggests Laquinimod, an investigational drug for Multiple Sclerosis may reduce brain damage caused by Neurodegeneration. The pre-planned analysis published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry demonstrates the benefits ...

Astellas Pharma Inc., a Japanese pharmaceutical company, has announced positive top-line data from a phase III invasive aspergillosis study (SECURE) for Isavuconazole, an antifungal candidate co-developed with Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. The  randomized, double-blind isavuconazole study (SECURE)  evaluated the safety and efficacy of once-daily isavuconazole ...

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Lundbeck and Takeda new antidepressant Brintellix for treatment of adults with major depressive disorder (MDD).   The Denmark pharma company Lundbeck filed for regulatory approval of Brintellix for the treatment of MDD  in the United States ...

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved UCB's Cimzia for the treatment of adults with psoriatic arthritis, the third indication approved by the agency.  The UCB's biologic drug Cimzia is already on the market for rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease in both ...

Irish speciaty pharma firm Shire will shell out $100 million upfront to acquire FerroKin BioSciences Inc, a Bay area company that is developing a drug that can potentially eliminate excess iron in the blood. The Dublin-based Shire said in a statement that it will pay $100 million upfront to ...

NicOx and its partner Bausch & Lomb reported positive top-line results from a mid-stage study of their glaucoma drug candidate BOL‑303259‑X. The companies are moving the potential treatment to reduce  fluid pressure inside the eye into phase III development.   The French biotech firm NicOx had ...

GlaxoSmithKline has started a collaboration with UK biotech and personalized medicine company Epistem  on fibrosis related research. The financial details were not disclosed. The Manchester, UK-based Epistem said the three-year biomarker research collaboration with GSK will focus on identifying key characteristics of ...

Pfizer Inc has ended the $350 million deal to commercialize Biocon's biosimilar versions of insulin and insulin analogues, giving a big blow to the India biopharma firm's ambitions to emerge as a major player in diabetes care. The two company said that all rights ...

Johnson & Johnson's Janssen unit said that its prostate cancer drug Zytiga (abiraterone acetate) delayed the progression of cancer in chemotherapy-naive patients. The late-stage trial COU-AA-302 of Zytiga in 1,088 patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer has been unblinded due its effectiveness, ...