Could Palestinian pharma companies supply Israel? Time to test it

Good news!

"More than three decades ago, the Oslo framework identified pharmaceuticals as one area for Israeli-Palestinian industrial cooperation. That idea is worth revisiting today, not because economic cooperation can resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but because there may be a narrower economic opportunity that has never been seriously tested.

Palestinian pharmaceutical manufacturers already produce medicines at meaningful industrial scale. Israel, meanwhile, is a nearby pharmaceutical market that purchases large volumes of generic medicines. The question is whether qualified Palestinian manufacturers could supply selected products to Israeli purchasers safely, reliably and at a competitive total cost. ..."

Could Palestinian pharma companies supply Israel? Time to test it - Globes "Israeli-Palestinian cooperation on pharmaceuticals is worth examining, not as a peace project, but as an economic opportunity for both sides."

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is coming back into vogue among drug developers

Good news!

"Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) could be on the brink of a renaissance among drug developers.

For decades, other techniques that assess the structure of drugs — such as X-ray crystallography and, more recently, cryo-electron microscopy — have overshadowed NMR because of its complexity and slowness.

But over the past five years, a suite of contract research organizations (which manage research for drug companies) have been founded with the aim of bringing NMR back into the limelight as the technology improves, to help drug discovery.

Meanwhile, NMR has been used to uncover a completely new conformational state in a group of proteins strongly linked with cancer progression. The newly discovered ‘invisible fold’ in kinases could help make kinase inhibitors more selective. “Conformational dynamics in drug discovery are critical and underappreciated,” ..." 

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

NMR-as-you-go for drug hunters (no public access) "Craving speed and convenience, biopharma companies turn to providers with NMR know-how."

Big Pharma Bets Big on AI

Good news!

"... What’s new: Pharma giant Eli Lilly agreed to give as much as $2.75 billion to Insilico Medicine, a Hong Kong-based biotechnology company that applies generative AI across its drug-discovery pipeline.

Initially, Lilly will pay $115 million for exclusive rights to develop and sell undisclosed drugs that have not yet been tested in humans, while further payments will be tied to developmental, regulatory, and commercial milestones ... 

This is the third agreement between the companies following an AI software license in 2023 and a $100 million research collaboration in November 2025.

AI drug-discovery: Founded in 2014, Insilico has used AI to develop 28 candidate drugs, roughly half of which are in clinical trials.

The most advanced one, Rentosertib, targets idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a disease in which scarring progressively reduces lung function. A Phase 2a trial (an early, small-scale test of efficacy) showed positive results.

A second drug, Garutadustat, which is intended to treat inflammatory bowel disease, entered Phase 2a in January 2026. ...

Insilico’s pipeline suggests generative AI can tackle one of the hardest problems in science: finding a molecule that binds to a particular protein, is absorbed by the body, isn’t toxic, and helps patients. ..."

Meta Pivots From Open Weights, Big Pharma Bets On AI, Regulatory Patchwork, Simulating Human Cohorts

Insilico Medicine pipeline

Nine pharmaceutical companies Makers to Reduce Prescription drug prices in the US for Medicaid recipients and cash buyers

I did not follow this story very closely. It appears that President Trump may have strong armed these companies in offering their drugs at lower prices in the US.

It has been argued for several decades that pharmaceutical companies around the world were taking advantage or exploiting the more open, free market of the US by offering higher priced drugs while accepting government price controls and numerous restrictions in other Western countries. As long as these companies were able to make large profits in the US they did not bother too much about limited business in other countries.

"The Trump administration announced new agreements on Friday with some of the world’s largest drug manufacturers aimed at lowering prescription drug costs for Americans. 

Nine pharmaceutical companies have agreed to reduce prices on their flagship drugs for Medicaid recipients and people who buy the medications in cash, rather than through insurance, as part of a new deal.

In addition, any newly launched drugs made by the companies will also be charged at the “most-favored-nation” pricing [or lowest price anywhere] across the country for everyone, including commercial and cash pay markets, as well as Medicare and Medicaid.

A senior administration official said about 30 to 40 percent of Medicaid drugs would be impacted."

Sunday, December 21, 2025 - Join The Flyover

India, Fentanyl, and a New Flashpoint in US Trade Dispute? with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable! Good news, India and the US are cooperating to prevent Fentanyl precursors coming from India. India, as one of the biggest suppliers of pharmaceuticals to the US probably has a strong interest to make sure that illicit drugs are not involved.

Weight-loss drugs propelled Eli Lilly to become the first pharmaceutical company to hit $1 trillion in market capitalization

Good news! Impressive!

Weight loss is good business! 😊

"Shares closed at $1,059.70, leaving the drugmaker’s valuation slightly above the 13-figure milestone. Lilly’s market value is more than twice as big as its next closest rival in the industry, Johnson & Johnson. Lilly is the 10th company to surpass $1 trillion."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

Your health care data is for sale. Here’s how Big Pharma is using it.

Recommendable! Explains the subject quite well. An unusually long video for SAN on a single subject. At the end of the video, that it is not nefarious and may benefit the patient.