The Pharma Letter

5 days ago | thepharmaletter.com | Guy Martin

Armed with an asset that could be an improvement on Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) blockbuster smoking cessation drug Chantix/Champix (varenicline), Achieve Life Sciences (Nasdaq: ACHV) has confidence in its prospects of addressing the global smoking health and nicotine addiction epidemic.

2 weeks ago | thepharmaletter.com | Simon Wentworth

This week on The Pharma Letter Podcast, we’re joined by Howard Fillit, co-founder and chief science officer at the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF). As the FDA approval of anti-amyloid drugs like lecanemab and donanemab marks a new era in the treatment of Alzheimer’s, questions remain around cost, access, and real-world impact. A geriatrician and neuroscientist, Dr Fillit has argued for a broader approach to Alzheimer’s—one that targets not just amyloid, but the full biology of aging.

2 weeks ago | thepharmaletter.com | Guy Martin

Last month, the Future Health Report was presented at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. The report states that it is time for policymakers to adopt more holistic and interconnected approaches—from funding to clinical guidelines and care models—to tackle the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) challenge.

3 weeks ago | thepharmaletter.com | Ángel Galindo

In Latin America, the average percentage of the public budget for health is 12.75%, half of what is allocated by the 38 countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which on average is 24.5%. Added to this reality is the fact that Latin America is more dependent on private spending on health, especially on out-of-pocket spending.

Mar 29, 2025 | thepharmaletter.com

California, USA-based UNITY Biotechnology (Nasdaq: UBX] has announced top-line results from the Phase IIb ASPIRE clinical trial of intravitreal UBX1325 (foselutoclax) in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) who had poor vision despite prior anti-VEGF treatment.