10. AbbVie posts promising data on RA drug

AbbVie posted results on upadacitinib, the latest drug in its pipeline for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the results have given the company a huge boost by managing to hit all endpoints of the trial.

9. Pfizer gets fast-track approval for rare heart condition

Pfizer’s tafamidis has already been given approval in 40 countries across the globe but it has not currently broken into the US market. This could soon to be set to change as it has received a fast-track designation for the treatment of transthyretin cardiomyopathy (TTR-CM).

8. BMS' Opdivo scores eighth approval in Europe for bladder cancer

Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that Opdivo (nivolumab) has secured its eighth approval in Europe for the treatment of locally-advanced unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) in adults following the failure of prior platinum-containing therapy.

7. Takeda launches construction of €40 million Dublin facility

Takeda officially launched the construction of a new €40 million production facility in Dublin, Ireland, with a ground-breaking ceremony.

6. Merck KGaA signs potential $1 billion deal with UK biotech

UK biotech, F-Star, scored a boost to its coffers with another link-up with a big pharma company, this time with Merck KGaA. The deal sees €115 million exchange hands in the initial stages of the agreement.

5. AbbVie names new General Managers for UK and France

Abbvie announced a double appointment across its UK and French operations, naming Jérôme Bouyer as its UK General Manager, UK, and Pierre-Claude Fumoleau succeeds him as General Manager, France

4. Novartis and IBM form breast cancer research partnership

News broke that Novartis is to join forces with tech giant IBM, and its Watson Health platform, to tackle advanced breast cancer with an outcome-based initiative.

3. 1 in 6 US patients are given wrong dose of blood-thinners, study suggests

New research data from the Mayo Clinic has suggested that as much as one in six patients suffering from atrial fibrillation have been prescribed the wrong dose of blood-thinning medication as a treatment.

2. New game, new rules: Pathways for better and more affordable medicines in Europe

Yannis Natsis, Policy Manager for Universal Access and Affordable Medicines at the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), discusses the latest developments in market access across Europe, and the collaborative efforts its constituents are engaging in to improve it.

1. Unprecedented CAR-T data shows 100% response rate

In a study examining patients suffering from multiple myeloma, CAR-T therapy achieved a 100% response rate across all participants, with every one but two reaching some form of remission within two months.