GSK discontinues Cervarix in India as part of portfolio rationalization efforts against the backdrop of the arrival of Serum’s 'affordable' quadrivalent HPV vaccine. The heat is also believed to be on the UK drugmaker’s pneumococcal vaccine Synflorix in the country.

A controversial letter from two Japanese doctors' associations seemingly pressing regulators to approve Shionogi’s oral COVID-19 drug prompts a backlash from other physicians. 

While health technology assessment body NICE concludes that Lynparza for treating prostate cancer is too expensive, concerns have been raised over the inclusion of the costs of genetic testing during cost-effectiveness evaluations of personalized medicines.

Eric Rubin, who heads up early oncology clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, tells Scrip that it became clear very early on that Keytruda was something special.