If anyone can throw cold water on the claimed benefits of some of Europe's most recently approved medicines, it’s the international drug bulletin, Prescrire. In an assessment of 108 of the pharma industry’s latest offerings, it gives a cautious welcome to some but says that more than half bring nothing new and others could even be dangerous to patients.

While the Dutch government negotiates an acceptable price for Leadiant Biosciences’ orphan drug CDCA, a university hospital has resumed supplying pharmacy compounded versions of the drug after addressing initial problems with the sourcing of raw materials.

A second complaint has been filed, this time in Belgium, over the “excessive” price hike on Leadiant’s CDCA-containing drug for the rare genetic disorder, CTX.

Japan approves a large batch of new products including significant first nods globally for AbbVie's antibody for psoriasis and Japan's first gene-based therapy, as well as a pioneering first approval in Asia for a CAR-T drug.