Pharmalittle: We’re reading about Sanders’ pharma pressure campaign, AstraZeneca’s new ADC factory, and more

Good morning from STAT reporter Andrew Joseph, filling in here for Mr. Pharmalot. We’ve recently been trying to experiment with just one cup of stimulation per day, but our current Case of the Mondays is really testing that commitment at the moment. As we wish you a stronger, perkier start to the week, we’ll leave you with a few tidbits. …

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is figuring out just how far bullying drugmakers can take him, STAT writes. For more than a year, Sanders has used his perch atop the Senate health committee to haul the CEOs of pharmaceutical companies before the panel with ambitious demands related to their pricing. After a few victories he’s claimed, he’s now progressed to demanding that Novo Nordisk cut its price for its novel, wildly popular diabetes and weight loss drugs. Sanders (I-Vt.) is testing the limits of the powers of a Senate chairman with little hope of advancing his policy agenda legislatively.

AstraZeneca is investing $1.5 billion in a manufacturing site in Singapore dedicated to the production of antibody drug conjugates, an advanced form of chemotherapy, the Financial Times reports. AstraZeneca’s investment in its first fully dedicated ADC site underlines the importance of the drug category to its future business and is the first time the drugmaker has built a manufacturing presence in Singapore. AstraZeneca said that the move was supported by Singapore’s Economic Development Board, but neither AstraZeneca nor the EDB disclosed what incentives it would receive from the Singaporean government. AstraZeneca has a portfolio of ADCs, including Enhertu, which is currently manufactured by its Japanese partner Daiichi Sankyo and generated more than $2.5 billion in sales last year.

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