Patents
Merck’s new formulation of the mega-blockbuster Keytruda, made in collaboration with Alteogen, could help to keep the drug’s patent cliff at bay.
With Keytruda, the best-selling drug in the world, facing the end of exclusivity in 2028, BioSpace looks at five drugs that have taken the leap off the patent cliff.
Sarepta will update Elevidys’ label after a patient died following treatment; the FDA issues flu vaccine recommendations without advisor input; Trump CDC nominee Dave Weldon pulled at last minute; and FDA decisions expected for Alnylam’s Amvuttra in ATTR-CM and Milestone’s etripamil in tachycardia.
The new formulation of Keytruda, currently under FDA review, is sparking conflict with Halozyme, which makes enzymes that convert intravenous drugs into injectable versions.
SpringWorks Therapeutics sprung out of Pfizer’s storeroom, when a rare disease advocacy group pushed to keep a program for neurofibromatosis alive. This method could work for “every rare disease under the sun,” advocates say.
SpringWorks Therapeutics is the perfect case study for rescuing a discontinued assets. It’s time to repeat the process for every rare disease, experts say.
Merck’s Keytruda may be the most talked about drug facing loss of exclusivity but it’s far from the only one, as several of the industry’s top-performers are losing key market protections. Some companies are more prepared than others.
The FDA is mired in uncertainty with some staffers losing their jobs over the weekend and more potentially to come, vaccines and psychedelic therapies could be facing very different futures under newly confirmed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Moderna continues its downward revenue slide and Merck, Regeneron, BMS and more face strong patent headwinds.
Novartis is locked in a legal back-and-forth with MSN Pharma over alleged patent infringement of its heart failure drug Entresto.
AbbVie’s blockbuster Humira held 105 patents, shielding the anti-inflammatory drug from biosimilar competition for more than 20 years. Proposed reforms could help prevent companies from extending exclusivity with such patent thickets.
PRESS RELEASES