Health Canada has approved the recombinant Covid-19 vaccine produced by Canadian biotech Medicago that uses the pandemic adjuvant made by British pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline. The shot marketed as Covifenz uses a plant-based virus-like particles technology to imitate the coronavirus’ spike protein.
After several delays, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline are preparing to submit data to regulatory authorities to support approval of their adjuvanted protein vaccine against Covid-19.
British pharmaceuticals major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is now proceeding full speed ahead with plans to spin off its consumer health unit. The procedure is being accelerated after management rejected Unilever’s $68 billion takeover offer as too low, and the London-based international consumer products giant said it would not reopen negotiations.
The pharma industry’s poaching season is on, though some say it’s never off, just taking a break. In the latest drugmaker-to-drugmaker side-swap, among the top news this week was that Bayer has hired away GlaxoSmithKline’s head of oncology therapy, Christine Roth, just as the UK pharma was seen to be reestablishing its position in cancer therapeutics.
Unilever’s CEO Alan Jope has had to bury his hopes of buying GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer drugs portfolio. After shareholders questioned the move, and analysts said that due to the relatively low price its third offer, worth £50 billion, was “as good as dead, the London-based consumer giant pulled the plug. Now it looks as if the CEO may face more trouble, as an activist investor has stepped into the fray.
GlaxoSmithKline said it has received and rejected three bids from consumer products giant Unilever to acquire its consumer drugs arm. The latest offer, worth £50 billion (£41.7 billion in cash and £8.3 billion in Unilever shares), fundamentally undervalues" the business,” the UK pharma said.
In the VAT 0002 extension trial investigating the safety and immunogenicity of the protein-based recombinant adjuvanted Covid-19 vaccine they are partly developing as a booster, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline said the shot delivered a “consistently strong immune response” and was well tolerated, regardless of the vaccine it followed.
Britain’s largest drugmaker, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has landed a major coup, luring Pfizer’s vaccines R&D chief away, as it tries to regain its position in the top tier of the vaccine league and build up its presence in the mRNA field. On Dec. 3, Philip Dormitzer, who had served as the US pharma giant’s chief scientific officer for RNA and viral vaccines since 2015, will say goodbye to New York and, figuratively, at least, hello to London.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended administering GlaxoSmithKline’s 33-year-old malaria vaccine to children across Africa in the hope of stalling the spread of the mosquito-borne disease. Despite a preceding positive recommendation the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2015, the vaccine still is not in widespread use.
A year ago unthinkable, the market for mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccines appears to be headed for saturation, even though, or perhaps because, there now seem to be more products on the market than first-world consumers want or need.
Activist hedge fund Bluebell Capital Partners has joined activist investor Elliott Management, GlaxoSmithKline’s long-time nemesis, in trying to force a leadership shakeup at the UK drugmaker. The pair have called for chief executive Emma Walmsley to reapply for her job.
CV2Cov, the next-generation Covid-19 vaccine under development by German biotech CureVac and UK drugs giant GSK, outperformed CureVac’s first-generation Covid shot in preclinical trials with non-human primates, the companies have reported.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the UK’s largest drugmaker, plans to establish a new life sciences campus within its R&D site at Stevenage, England. The company said it is financing the project with the £400 million intake from selling land at the site.
The human medicines committee of the European Medicines Agency, CHMP, has begun a rolling review of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sanofi Pasteur, which following approval is planned to be marketed by drugmaker Sanofi and UK pharma Glaxo SmithKline.
Emma Walmsley, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, under attack from activist investor Elliott Management, has received the backing of the company’s board, which said it “strongly believes” she is the “right leader” for the UK’s largest drugmaker after the planned spinoff of its consumer health business and “fully supports” the steps she’s taking to improve performance.”
After seeing encouraging results with their adjuvanted recombinant Covid-19 vaccine candidate across all adult age groups in a recently completed Phase 2 trial, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are preparing to launch a global Phase 3 randomized double-blind study “in the coming weeks.”
Activist hedge fund Elliott Management, also known as Elliott Associates or Elliott Advisers, has a new target – GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Over the past decade, the fund has gone after chemical companies DuPont, Bayer and most recently Akzo Nobel, with mixed results.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the UK’s largest drugmaker, has reached an agreement in principle with Novavax and the UK Government Vaccines Taskforce to produce up to 60 million doses of the US biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, in England to boost its vaccination drives. A final agreement specifying terms and conditions is to follow.
Glaxo SmithKline (GSK) said it is investigating the conduct of its former executive Moncef Slaoui, who until recently co-lead the US government’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine program. Following allegations from an employee of sexual harassment that took place several years ago, GSK said Slaoui has also been terminated as chairman of the board of Galvani Bioelectronics, its majority owned joint venture with Google’s Verily Life Sciences
Sandoz, the generics division of Swiss drugmaker Novartis, is picking up GlaxoSmithKline’s cephalosporin antibiotics business, including the brands Zinnat, Zinacef and Fortum, for up to $500 million.
Both the Sanofi/GlaxoSmithKline partnership and US vaccine producer Moderna this week announced new advance purchase agreements with Canada for their Covid-19 vaccine candidates.
Sanofi and GSK have agreed a deal with the EU to supply up to 300 million doses of their recombinant protein-based Covd-19 vaccine pending regulatory approval, which is expected sometime in the first half of 2021.
With some potential Covid-19 vaccine makers suggesting they could have a candidate ready for approval and maybe even deployment this autumn, concerns are arising that a doubting public could shun inoculation.
After months of uncertainty and anxious glances across the water as potential Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers made deal after deal with other political blocs, the EU over the past four weeks has made rapid strides toward securing supplies for its 27 member states.
Lagging behind other big names of late in announcing Covid-19 vaccine supply deals, French and British drugmakers Sanofi and GlaxoSmithkline together nailed down agreements with the US and UK at the end of last week. The companies have hinted that a deal with the EU could be reached shortly.
