05 May, 2026

Pharmavite Buys Bonafide Health

Pharmavite, a West Hills vitamin and supplement company, has acquired Bonafide Health, a women’s health products company based in Harrison, New York, for $425 million. Pharmavite, founded in 1971, is best known for its NatureMade brand of vitamins, along with its MegaFoods nutrition product line. It’s a subisidary of Tokyo-based pharmaceutical and nutraceutical firm Otsuka […]

3 mins read

Arcutis Gets FDA Nod for Topical Foam

Westlake Village-based immunodermatology company Arcutis Biotherapeutics Inc. has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a topical foam version of its main drug to treat seborrheic dermatitis in individuals aged 9 and older. The approval, announced last month, marks the first new method of application for a drug to treat seborrheic dermatitis in […]

2 mins read

New Kaiser Chief Talks Wildfires, Pandemic

With large medical centers in the Valley area, Kaiser Permanente is one of the biggest companies operating here. And the hospital firm recently got a new boss. Michelle Gaskill-Hames in September became president of the Kaiser Permanente region that includes Southern California and Hawaii. She had served as president on an interim basis since April. […]

10 mins read

Amgen Creates New Therapy Line

With its long-anticipated acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics wrapped up last month, Thousand Oaks pharma giant Amgen Inc. is incorporating Horizon’s drug development programs into a new business line for rare disease therapies. Meanwhile, along its more traditional business lines, Amgen late last month won approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration to market […]

6 mins read

AVMC Gets Peds Director

Antelope Valley Medical Center in Lancaster has named Suraj Batish as its new pediatric medical director. Batish leads the Antelope Valley’s only hospital-based pediatric unit. Batish replaces Lynne Ellison as pediatric medical director; Ellison and her family moved to Las Vegas during the summer due to her husband’s military career. Batish actually took over the […]

2 mins read

‘Recell’ Ready: Avita Closes Debt Facility

Valencia-based regenerative medicine company Avita Medical Inc. has closed a debt facility of up to $90 million with New York health care investment firm OrbiMed Advisors. The nondilutive capital provides financial flexibility to support portfolio expansion, global initiatives, and the further development and commercialization of approved skin restoration therapies. Avita is developing devices and cellular […]

1 min read

ImmPACT’s Lupus Drug Fast-Tracked

West Hills-based ImmPACT Bio USA Inc. a clinical-stage company developing chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases, has received fast-track designation from the Food and Drug Administration for its leading drug to treat specific types of lupus. Fast-track designation is designed to help drugs reach patients faster by facilitating the development and […]

1 min read

Arcutis Gets FDA Nod For Dermatitis Cream

Westlake Village-based immune-dermatology company Arcutis Biotherapeutics Inc. has received federal approval to begin marketing its drug to treat a type of dermatitis in children ages 6 to 11. The company had already received approval to market the drug for use in people 12 and over. Separately, the company this month announced a public offering of $100 million […]

3 mins read

Arcutis Gets FDA Nod For Plaque Psoriasis Cream

This article has been revised and corrected from the original version. Westlake Village-based immune-dermatology company Arcutis Biotherapeutics Inc. has received federal approval to begin marketing its drug to treat plaque psoriasis in children ages 6 to 11. The company had already received approval to market the drug for use in people 12 and over. Separately, the […]

3 mins read

Amgen Launches a Partner Network

Thousand Oaks-based pharmaceutical giant Amgen Inc. is putting more emphasis on its international reach. Besides its much-covered $27.8 billion acquisition of Dublin, Ireland-based Horizon Therapeutics that closed on Oct. 6, Amgen in recent months has established a network of eight cancer research centers around the globe, bringing together leaders of these centers and its own […]

3 mins read