Eli Lilly is making a series of investments in China to support its manufacturing and R&D operations. Gilead Sciences has abandoned a liver disease collaboration with Yuhan. A new study suggests Leqembi's vial design could cost Medicare hundreds of millions of dollars in waste each year. And more.
1. Lilly's manufacturing splurge continues with $200M expansion in China
Eli Lilly expands innovation reach with another global Gateway Lab, this time in China
In back-to-back announcements, Eli Lilly said it will invest $200 million to expand its manufacturing site in Suzhou and will open its biotech incubator, known as Lilly Gateway Labs, in China. The U.S. pharma also unveiled a Medical Innovation Center in Beijing.
2. Gilead gives up on $15M MASH bet with Yuhan after mulling preclinical data
Gilead Sciences has walked away from a metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis deal with Yuhan. Gilead in 2019 paid Korean biotech Yuhan $15 million upfront to enter the collaboration, which is still at the preclinical stage. The termination means Gilead won’t have to pay $770 million in milestones.
3. Leqembi's vial design could result in hundreds of millions in annual Medicare waste: study
The vial design for Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi could lead to $133 million to $336 million in waste per year for Medicare, a new study from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles has found. The team proposed a 75-mg vial presentation in addition to the existing 500-mg and 200-mg vials to reduce waste by 74%.
4. Novartis pays Baiyu $70M upfront, with $1.1B chaser, for small molecule cancer candidate
Novartis is paying Chengdu Baiyu Pharmaceutical $70 million upfront for a small-molecule cancer candidate. The deal includes up to $1.1 billion in milestones. No details on the drug target or tumor type were given. The Chinese biotech’s pipeline is led by clinical-stage candidates targeting DNA-PK and PARP7 in solid tumors.
5. Goodbye Wave: Takeda axes Huntington’s pact, freeing partner to pursue fresh interest
Takeda has terminated a collaboration with Wave Life Sciences in Huntington’s disease after spending $260 million over the past six years. The last program in the partnership, WVE-003, reported phase 1b/2a data in June. The asset “has generated significant interest from prospective partners,” Wave said.
6. Johnson & Johnson eases initial Stelara blows with strong Darzalex, Carvykti growth
A second-line FDA approval has helped Legend Biotech and Johnson & Johnson’s Carvykti. The BCMA CAR-T grew sales by 87% year over year in the third quarter to $286 million. As the pair expands manufacturing capacity, quarterly growth for Carvykti may not look linear, J&J’s innovative medicine head, Jennifer Taubert, said on a call.
Other News of Note
7. Chinese insulin maker says its GLP-1 beat Ozempic at lowering blood sugar, body weight in phase 2
8. AZ, Daiichi back campaign to provide Black breast cancer patients with specialized care
9. Otsuka calculates dementia caregivers would earn 6 figures if paid for work