1. The FDA approved the combination of Merck’s immunotherapy Keytruda and Eli Lilly’s chemotherapy Alimta to treat advanced lung cancer. (Reuters)
2. PhRMA has expelled 22 drugmakers, including Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Horizon Pharma, from its lobby group. Neither company satisfies new requirements that members spend at least $200 million on research and development every year and that R&D spend equals at least 10% of global sales. (Bloomberg)
3. In a move to expand its pipeline in both gene therapy and hemophilia, Pfizer said it will pay $70 million upfront to Sangamo Therapeutics to gain rights to its gene-therapy programs. Sangamo plans to begin human trials of SB-525, a gene-therapy program for the treatment of hemophilia A, this quarter. (Reuters)
4. A phase 3 study revealed that Roche’s immunotherapy Tecentriq was not more effective than chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced bladder cancer patients who had already undergone platinum-based chemotherapy. (PharmaTimes)
5. Physician social network SERMO launched Drug Ratings, a peer-to-peer prescription drug review platform. The platform, which is integrated into SERMO’s social network, sources reviews by verified licensed physicians only.
