ASH Heats Up, Plus Alkermes’ Huge I-Told-Ya-So

This opinion piece presents the opinions of the author. It does not necessarily reflect the views of BioSpace.

I wouldn’t ordinarily highlight an equivalence study, but this one is significant: Alkermes took a lot of flack for “using politics” to promote its addiction treatment Vivitrol, despite it being--according to some--inferior to suboxone. It was thought that, because suboxone is intoxicating and Vivitrol isn’t, the latter appealed to the puritanical instincts of lawmakers, particularly conservative ones. Well, it turns out that Vivitrol appears to work just as well as suboxone.

Meanwhile, temperatures have been rising as we get closer to ASH--that is, the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in December. We’ve already seen some important updates from bluebird bio, Juno Therapeutics, Agios Pharmaceuticals, and more. Read on for some of this past month’s most significant clinical news. -KT

Here’s a roundup of these stories and other top clinical news from the past month.

• Alkermes’ VIVITROL and Value of Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence Featured in Study Sponsored by National Institute on Drug Abuse
  
• ^{Tweaks to bluebird bio’s Gene Therapy Approach May be Working}
  
• One-Time CAR-T Leader Juno Shows Off Promising New Clinical Data
  
• Sage Therapeutics Announces Brexanolone Achieves Primary Endpoints in Both Phase II Clinical Trials in Postpartum Depression

• Alnylam Emerges as Winner in Rare Disease Study Showdown With Ionis

• Tiny OncoSec Surges on Promising Phase II Melanoma Data
  

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