Tracy Staton
FiercePharma
Dorset, VT, United States
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Past articles by Tracy:
Merck's Keytruda hits the skids in pivotal trial, putting its liver cancer nod at risk
Merck & Co.’s immunotherapy Keytruda has been hitting its trial targets so often, it’s tempting to think it can't miss. But it can—and Tuesday’s data in liver cancer proves it. The question now is what the FDA will do with that failure. → Read More
An end to rebates as we know them? HHS plan would punch PBMs, but pharma might benefit
The Trump administration just took its first step toward upending the pharmaceutical supply chain. HHS proposed sweeping aside rebates drugmakers hand over to federal payers, posing a threat to pharmacy benefits managers and shaking up pharma's pricing and discounting strategies. → Read More
What’s BMS saying about its Celgene buy behind the scenes? This transcript tells all
Ever wish you could be a fly on the wall at a company in the middle of a merger? Thanks to the Securities and Exchange Commission, you can—at a Bristol-Myers Squibb town hall about its Celgene buyout, at least. Hint: TV, YouTube and lots of CAR-T. → Read More
JPM need-to-know, Part 2: GSK's cancer convictions; Amgen's diverse defense; GW's ambitions and more
The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference opened Tuesday with GlaxoSmithKline CEO Emma Walmsley's rundown, featuring—of course—its $5 billion Tesaro buy. And you could say that Amgen CEO Bob Bradway's presentation began late Monday, when the company rolled out another round of price cuts on its cholesterol drug Repatha. Stay tuned for Roche, Takeda, Sanofi and more. → Read More
JPM 2019, Day 1: Lilly's $8B buy, BMS' megadeal defense, Pfizer's cliff-free future
Pharma came storming out of the gate at this year's J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in a Monday full of deal talk, CEO ambitions and analyst assessments and prognostications. → Read More
FiercePharma's annual look ahead, when the past really does predict the future
You might know someone who took the valsartan pills recalled this year and discussed in another of our year-end articles. I do. In fact, if you read over FiercePharma’s collection of trends to watch next year—the centerpiece of our coverage today—you'll likely find a personal tie to one of them. → Read More
Merck shells out $2.4B for cutting-edge animal tech company Antelliq
Bayer may be getting out of animal health, but Merck & Co. is plowing ahead—and in a new market to boot. The pharma giant is scooping up Antelliq, a French company that specializes in digital tracking for livestock and next-gen gadgets for pets, in a deal worth €3.25 billion. → Read More
AstraZeneca, Merck face NICE setback in bid for broader Lynparza use
AstraZeneca and Merck’s Lynparza recently put up ovarian cancer data that blew away pharma watchers at ESMO, and it’s been broadening its reach with new FDA approvals. But England’s drug gatekeepers aren’t convinced it’s worth the price in one of those new indications. → Read More
Jazz’s Vyxeos rollout hit a wall in Q3. What’s the holdup?
Jazz Pharmaceuticals has a couple of new selling points—and a bigger supporting salesforce—for its leukemia drug Vyxeos. So why did sales fall so far short of expectations in the third quarter? Because it’s facing some new barriers to access, too. → Read More
Abbott, AbbVie ink deal with feds to wrap up long-standing TriCor kickbacks case
Nine years after the whistle first blew, AbbVie and Abbott Laboratories have finally settled a marketing investigation claiming they beefed up prescriptions for the heart drug TriCor by handing out kickbacks and touting it for unapproved use. → Read More
Panel backing for key Shire drug beefs up Takeda's case for its $62B buyout
Shire just nabbed FDA panel backing for prucalopride, aiming to challenge Allergan and Synergy in the chronic constipation market—and hoping to add blockbuster sales to a portfolio that’s at the heart of Takeda’s $62 billion buyout. → Read More
Merck joins Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline in grabbing a consumer executive to beef up digital
Merck & Co. is joining Big Pharma's chief digital officer parade. The pharma giant poached Jim Scholefield from Nike to head up global IT and digital strategy—and judging from a reference in Merck's announcement, he'll also tackle cybersecurity, a need the company knows all too well. → Read More
Can Kadcyla give Roche a softer landing when Herceptin biosims hit? New data could help
Roche’s Kadcyla needs some oomph, and the Swiss drugmaker’s new data might just do the trick. The company is teeing up a new filing for its next-generation breast cancer drug, hoping to gin up more sales as its ancestor, Herceptin, moves ever closer to biosimilar competition in the U.S. → Read More
Bristol-Myers stumbles in lung cancer quest as I-O star Opdivo flunks small cell trial
Bristol-Myers Squibb just took another hit to its lung cancer aspirations. Its immuno-oncology blockbuster Opdivo flunked a trial in small cell lung cancer just a few weeks after rival Roche posted a first-line win. → Read More
CEO Ian Read hands the reins of a slimmer, sleeker Pfizer to COO Albert Bourla
After steering Pfizer through nine years of selloffs, spinoffs, reorgs, drug launches, patent losses, dealmaking—and one big deal that didn’t—CEO Ian Read is stepping aside. He’ll yield his chair to innovative medicines chief Albert Bourla, who was named COO last year in a move that signaled his step toward the top. → Read More
Believe it: Just as Amarin promised, Vascepa delivers big win in heart-risk study
Call it a promise kept. For years, Amarin has staunchly defended its heart drug Vascepa, despite detractors' disbelief that the drug truly cut cardiovascular risks. According to a new study, it does—and in a big way. → Read More
Can Pfizer and Merck KGaA parlay Bavencio combo data into a kidney cancer win?
Pfizer and Merck KGaA are one step closer to a brand-new market for their immuno-oncology drug Bavencio. The companies reported winning data in a kidney cancer trial, setting them up for a "breakthrough" FDA approval—and a key expansion for the latecomer PD-L1 drug. → Read More
FDA deals a blow to GlaxoSmithKline's post-Advair hopes with Nucala COPD rebuff
Last week, GlaxoSmithKline used the tried-and-true technique of releasing bad news late on a Friday, when most people have checked out for the weekend. The disappointment? Its asthma drug Nucala, key to its respiratory strategy, got a thumbs-down from the FDA for a hoped-for new approval in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. → Read More
Allergan CEO pooh-poohs investor sniping amid Q2 beat, but analysts aren't so sure
The critics bemoaning that Allergan’s plan to sell off its women’s health and infectious disease businesses doesn’t go far enough? The activist investors demanding CEO Brent Saunders give up the board chairman’s title? Forget both, Saunders said Thursday. → Read More
With FDA nod, Pfizer and Astellas’ Xtandi gets its shot at blockbuster sales boost
Pfizer and Astellas have their chance to bring Xtandi to prostate cancer patients before their disease has spread. But it’ll be a mano a mano with Johnson & Johnson, whose rival drug Erleada has a four-month head start thanks to an earlier-than-expected FDA approval. → Read More