10 October 2024 Machine learning-enabled drug discovery and development company insitro has announced the execution of three strategic agreements with Eli Lilly.
UK biotechnology companies have already raised more than £1.5 billion ($1.97 billion) in 2018, surpassing the 2017 annual total of £1.2 billion. 28 September 2018
Carri Duncan has left her role as senior investor relations manager with German pharma major Bayer to join the CAR-T specialist Celyad. 27 September 2018
Cellular Biomedicine saw its shares rocket 16.6% to $23.55 in pre-market trading, after it revealed it had entered into a strategic licensing and collaboration agreement with Swiss pharma giant Novartis. 27 September 2018
Shares in US drugmaker Aldeyra Therapeutics closed 35% up on Wednesday due to positive results from its Phase IIb clinical trial of topical ocular reproxalap in patients with dry eye disease. 27 September 2018
Regulators and representatives from the UK biopharma industry met for the eighth annual joint conference in London, aimed at promoting the successful development of the sector. 27 September 2018
Texan drugmaker Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has announced details of clinical data for oral diabetes therapy sotagliflozin, to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). 27 September 2018
Adocia has announced details of five abstracts to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). 27 September 2018
It’s not often that the company announcing an acquisition sees a significant share price spurt, but this was certainly the case on Wednesday for Alexion Pharmaceuticals, which gained over 5.1% to $135.61. 27 September 2018
China’s WuXi Biologics and biotech firm I-Mab Biopharma have expanded their strategic collaboration and licensed proprietary WuXiBody Platform to develop three bispecific antibodies (Bsab). WuXi Biologics will also be the exclusive partner to develop and manufacture these bispecifics. 27 September 2018
In the context of a competitive, some say overheated, market for mergers and acquisitions, Johnson & Johnson’s $30 billion purchase of Swiss biotech Actelion could be seen as a value-destructive move for shareholders. 26 September 2018
Adding to a busy news week for Gilead Sciences, a court in Brazil has announced it will strip the Californian firm of its exclusivity patent for Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), at the request of presidential candidate Rolando Valcir Spanholo. 26 September 2018
The USA’s Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has released a Draft Evidence Report assessing the clinical effectiveness and value of biologic treatments for asthma associated with Type 2 inflammation and/or allergic asthma. The draft report will be open to public comment until October 22, 2018. 26 September 2018
British drugmaker AstraZeneca has scored a significant trial hit, with positive data showing its immuno-oncology offering Imfinzi (durvalumab) delivered a near one-third reduction in risk of death for certain lung cancer patients. 26 September 2018
US biotech firm Cerecor has agreed to acquire Ichorion Therapeutics, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments and increasing awareness of inherited metabolic disorders known as Inborn Errors of Metabolism (IEMs). 26 September 2018
Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim yesterday announced that the Phase III LUME-Meso trial did not meet its primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) [NCT01907100]. 26 September 2018
The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has granted marketing approval for Blincyto (blinatumomab) for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). 26 September 2018
Detailed results from the IMpower133 study suggest Roche is poised to steal a march on immuno-oncology rivals in the relatively small population of small cell lung cancer patients. 25 September 2018
There was good news yesterday for Massachusetts, USA-based cancer specialist Verastem Oncology, vindicating the company’s faith in an in-licensed blood cancer drug that a former partner had ditched. 25 September 2018
Alexion Pharmaceuticals is in a strong position to push for a new approval with Soliris (eculizumab) after strong data in a rare complement-mediated disorder of the central nervous system. 25 September 2018
The European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Imfinzi (durvalumab) as monotherapy for the treatment of locally-advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in adults whose tumors express PD-L1 on ≥1% of tumor cells and whose disease has not progressed following platinum-based chemotherapy and radiation therapy (CRT). 24 September 2018
Danish dermatology specialist Leo Pharma has revealed plans to cut 200 jobs, marking the company’s fourth workforce reduction since 2022. 11 October 2024
Booster Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering a new class of proteasome activator medicines to treat neurodegenerative and other diseases, has launched with the support of a $15 million financing. 11 October 2024
German cancer specialist Immatics has announced the pricing of its $150 million public offering, with Jefferies, BofA Securities, and Leerink acting as joint book runners. 11 October 2024
The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved Pfizer and BioNTech's latest COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty (KP.2). 11 October 2024
In what Astella Pharma calls “a landmark decision for advanced bladder cancer patients,” the Japanese drugmaker gained approval in the UK for its treatment regimen. 10 October 2024
Nanoscope Therapeutics says that, following a productive FDA meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its clinical program evaluating MCO-010 for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the company will commence with submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) in the first quarter of 2025. 10 October 2024
US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson’s Tecvayli (teclistamab) has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a first-line option to treat myeloma in England and Wales. 10 October 2024
China’s Quantum Pharmaceuticals has announced a significant licensing agreement between its biologics-focused subsidiary, Ailux Biologics, and Johnson & Johnson. 10 October 2024
USA-based Kezar Life Sciences announced this week that it was pausing its Phase IIb PALIZADE trial evaluating zetomipzomib in lupus nephritis (LN) following the deaths of four patients. 10 October 2024
Advances in gene editing, such as the FDA approval of Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel) in December 2023 for the treatment of beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease, have fueled significant interest in innovative epigenetic drugs. 10 October 2024
Gene therapy start-up GEMMA Biotherapeutics (GEMMABio) has announced a significant partnership with Brazil's Fiocruz, a key supplier for the Brazilian Ministry of Health. 10 October 2024
California’s Arda Therapeutics, a biotech focused on targeted cell depletion therapies for chronic diseases, has announced the successful completion of a $43 million Series A financing round. 9 October 2024
Purespring Therapeutics, a gene therapy company focused on transforming the treatment of kidney diseases, has raised £80 million ($105 million) in a Series B financing. 9 October 2024