Cottage-Sansum merger proposal tests virtues of integration
State and federal regulators are grappling with a deal that could reshape the region’s health care landscape. The proposed merger of Cottage Health, operator of the only hospitals in South Santa Barbara County and the Santa Ynez Valley, with Sansum Clinic, the largest physician practice in the area, raises questions about cost, quality and Read More →
Amgen paying Arrowhead for traits to develop cardiovascular drugs
Amgen will license two traits from a Pasadena pharmaceutical company to develop cardiovascular drugs under a partnership announced Sept. 29. Under the agreement, Thousand Oaks-based Amgen will pay Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals $35 million up front, $21.5 million in the form of an equity investment by Amgen in Arrowhead common stock, and up to $617 million in Read More →
Amgen announces positive results for migraine drug
Thousand Oaks-based biotech giant Amgen announced positive data from a phase 3 study of a new migraine drug co-developed with competitor Novartis. Amgen said in a news release that, after 12 weeks, Erenumab showed a significant reduction in monthly migraine days in patients with episodic migraines treated with Erenumab compared with a placebo. In the Read More →
FDA approves Amgen biosimilar of AbbVie’s Humira
The Food and Drug Administration approved Amgen’s Humira biosimilar Sept. 23. Amjevita, formerly known as ABP 501 and made by Thousand Oaks-biotech giant Amgen, replicates the effects of Humira, which is approved to treat nine conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, skin disorders and colon inflammation. Humira, made by Chicago-based competitor AbbVie, typically costs $20,000 per year Read More →
Mindbody acquires app developer HealCode
MindBody, a San Luis Obispo-based developer of merchant processing software for yoga and fitness studios, acquired Austin, Texas–based HealCode, which develops web and mobile apps for holistic health service companies. MindBody and HealCode worked closely together previously and about 7,500 of MindBody’s 55,000 subscribers already used HealCode widgets in MindBody software for things like client Read More →
Cottage/Sansum merger could drive up cost of care
It was around 3 a.m. when Emily awoke in a cold sweat. She was short of breath as her fever reached 103 degrees in the midst of an asthma attack. Emily, whose real name has been changed to protect her identity, drove to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital where she underwent a series of tests. Read More →
FDA approves Amgen’s Blincyto
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Amgen’s drug Blincyto for treating pediatric leukemia patients Sept. 1. In Dec. 2014, the FDA approved Blincyto to treat patients with precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is a rare form of the disease. On Sept. 1, the agency extended Blincyto’s approval to include pediatric patients with another Read More →
