A Covid-19 vaccine shot being administered (AP Images)

August 10, 2021 06:41 AM EDTUpdated 06:59 AM

Gilead joins the movement to mandate staff vaccinations against Covid-19. And it looks like the rest of the industry is following

John Carroll

Editor & Founder

Five days after Pfizer said it would require all US staffers to get vaccinated against Covid-19, another big biopharma player is following suit.

Gilead put out a statement saying it too will mandate vaccinations, setting up an Oct. 1 deadline for employees to get the jab wherever it’s allowed by law and vaccines are in ready supply. Exceptions to the rule will be considered.

For those employees with religious beliefs or medical conditions that prevent them from getting vaccinated, we will offer an appropriate accommodations review process. Where it is not possible or practical to mandate vaccination, the company will strongly recommend that employees get vaccinated.

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Illustration: Assistant Editor Kathy Wong for Endpoints News

February 8, 2023 09:05 AM ESTUpdated 09:59 AM

Pharma

In Focus

How Purdue's $272M addiction payout funded a new home for its discarded non-opioid research

Jared Whitlock

Features Editor

Don Kyle spent more than 20 years working for Purdue Pharma, right through the US opioid epidemic that led to the company’s rise and eventual infamy. But contrary to Purdue’s focus on OxyContin, Kyle was researching non-opioid painkillers — that is, until the company shelved his research.

As the company’s legal troubles mounted, Kyle found an unlikely way to reboot the project. In 2019, he took his work to an Oklahoma State University center that’s slated to receive more than two-thirds of the state’s $272 million settlement with Purdue over claims that the drugmaker’s behavior ignited the epidemic of opioid use and abuse.

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Utpal Koppikar, new Verily CFO

February 8, 2023 04:15 PM EST

People

Pharma

Exclusive: Verily welcomes Atara Biotherapeutics veteran as new CFO

Nicole DeFeudis

Editor

Verily, Alphabet’s life sciences outfit, has plucked a new CFO from the ranks of Atara Biotherapeutics, the company announced on Wednesday.

Utpal Koppikar joins Verily after a nearly five-year stint as CFO and senior VP at Atara, though his résumé also boasts roles at Gilead and Amgen.

The news follows a major reshuffling at Verily, including several senior departures earlier this year and a round of layoffs.

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President Joe Biden at the State of the Union address with Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Patrick Semansky/AP Images)

February 8, 2023 06:51 AM EST

Law

The drug pricing president: Biden warns of veto for any IRA repeal attempts

Zachary Brennan

Senior Editor

President Joe Biden made clear in his “finish the job” State of the Union address last night that one of those jobs to be finished is insulin prices.

Biden’s push again to tackle insulin prices, after Republicans rebuffed the idea last summer and just after Biden won Medicare drug price negotiations/caps via the Inflation Reduction Act, shows how heavily he’s leaning into this work.

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Singer Nick Jonas is back at work for Dexcom, this time for its new G7 glucose monitor.

February 8, 2023 03:36 PM EST

Pharma

Marketing

Dexcom's spokescelebrity Nick Jonas returns to Super Bowl in new glucose monitor commercial

Beth Snyder Bulik

Senior Editor

Dexcom is going back to the Super Bowl with its pop singer and patient spokesperson Nick Jonas. Jonas takes center stage as the lone figure in the 30-second commercial showcasing Dexcom’s next-generation G7 continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device.

Jonas’ sleight-of-hand tricks populate the commercial — he pinches his empty fingers together and pops them open to reveal the small CGM — even as he ends the ad, saying, “It’s not magic. It just feels that way.” Jonas then disappears in a puff of smoke.

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Richard Francis, newly-appointed Teva CEO (Novartis via Facebook)

February 8, 2023 03:26 PM EST

Pharma

New Teva CEO Richard Francis reprioritizes to 'get back to growth'

Nicole DeFeudis

Editor

Six weeks into his new role at the helm of Teva Pharmaceutical, Richard Francis said it’s time to “get back to growth,” starting with a good look at the company’s priorities.

The chief executive has kicked off a strategic review, he announced during Teva’s quarterly call, which will continue over the next several months and produce results sometime in the middle of 2023. That means some pipeline cuts may be in store, he told Endpoints News, while declining to offer much more detail.

Sanofi is renewing its #VaccinesForDreams campaign with more stories, such as Juan's in Argentina (Sanofi)

February 8, 2023 02:45 PM EST

Pharma

Marketing

Sanofi renews social campaign to remind that vaccines let people ‘Dream Big’

Beth Snyder Bulik

Senior Editor

Sanofi is highlighting people’s dreams — both big and small — to make the point that vaccines make them possible.

The renewed “Dream Big” global social media campaign’s newest dreamer is Juan, a teacher in the Misiones rainforest in Argentina whose story is told through videos on Instagram and Sanofi’s website with the hashtag #VaccinesForDreams.

The campaign ties to Sanofi’s broader umbrella initiative “Vaccine Stories” to promote the value of vaccines and drive awareness of the need for improved vaccination coverage.

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Rupert Vessey, Bristol Myers Squibb head of research and early development

February 6, 2023 09:00 AM ESTUpdated February 6, 10:54 PM

Bioregnum

Updated: R&D turbulence at Bristol Myers now includes the end of a $650M alliance and the departure of a top research champion

This morning biotech Dragonfly put out word that Bristol Myers Squibb has handed back all rights to its IL-12 clinical-stage drug after spending $650 million to advance it into the clinic.

The news arrives amid a turbulent R&D stage for the pharma giant, which late last week highlighted Rupert Vessey’s decision to depart this summer as head of early-stage R&D following a crucial three-year stretch after he jumped to Bristol Myers in the big Celgene buyout. During that time he struck a series of deals for Bristol Myers, and also shepherded a number of Celgene programs down the pipeline, playing a major role for a lineup of biotechs which depended on him to champion their drugs.