Global Pharma Briefs: News from Regeneron and Seattle Genetics

A roundup of news from the US (Regeneron, Seattle Genetics).

US

FDA OKs Regeneron’s Ebola Drug
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ Inmazeb (atoltivimab, maftivimab and odesivimab-ebgn) for treating infection caused by the Zaire ebolavirus in adult and pediatric patients, including newborns of mothers who have tested positive for the infection. This is the first drug approved by the FDA to treat the Ebola virus.

As part of an agreement announced in July 2020, Regeneron will deliver an established number of Inmazeb treatment doses over the course of six years to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority as part of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ goal of building national preparedness for public health emergencies.

The treatment consists of three monoclonal antibodies of similar structure, atoltivimab, maftivimab and odesivimab,which bind to different, non-overlapping epitopes on the Zaire ebolavirus glycoprotein. The three antibodies help neutralize the Ebola virus by blocking its ability to invade patients’ and/or enlisting other immune cells to target infected cells and remove them from the body.

Source: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and the FDA


Seattle Genetics Changes Name to Seagen
Seattle Genetics, a Bothell, Washington-headquartered biopharmaceutical company, has changed its name to Seagen.

The company says its new corporate name reflects its transformation as it expands operations globally for marketed medicines, pursues new indications for approved medicines, and advances its pipeline of novel therapies for solid tumors and blood-related cancers. 

Seagen’s lead commercial product, Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin), an antibody drug conjugate for treating relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma and relapsed systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma, is approved in over 70 countries.  Over the last year, Seagen has launched two new cancer medicines: Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) for treating bladder cancer and Tukysa (tucatinib) for treating advanced breast cancer.  

Source: Seagen

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