10 October 2024 Machine learning-enabled drug discovery and development company insitro has announced the execution of three strategic agreements with Eli Lilly.
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
German family-owned pharma major Boehringer Ingelheim and USA-based Circle Pharma (have entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with the shared goal to develop a first-in-class cyclin inhibitor that can halt the growth of cancer cells potentially offering hope to those living with hard-to-treat cancers. 9 October 2024
Calluna Pharma, a biotech focused on treating inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, has appointed Mark Gaffney as its new chief executive. 9 October 2024
China-based WuXi Biologics, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), will focus on overseas development as well as efficiency improvement in 2020, said the firm’s chief executive Chris Chen at a press meeting in Shanghai on Friday, reports The Pharma Letter’s correspondent Wang Fangqing. 31 March 2020
Bristol-Myers Squibb and bluebird bio have submitted for US approval for idecabtagene vicleucel, a CAR-T cell immunotherapy, in multiple myeloma. 31 March 2020
USA-based CNS specialist biotech Axsome Therapeutics fell almost 15% after it revealed that its depression drug candidate AXS-05 had failed to achieve its primary endpoint in a Phase III study. 31 March 2020
US biopharma firm Hoth Therapeutics today said it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) with Isoprene Pharmaceuticals to acquire the full licensing rights of VNLG-152 novel retinamides (retinoic acid metabolism blocking agents, or RAMBAs) for the treatment of dermatological diseases. 30 March 2020
Jiangsu Alphamab Biopharmaceuticals has established strategic partnership with Simcere and 3D Medicines to advance the development and commercialization of a checkpoint inhibitor for programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1), for oncology indications in mainland China. 30 March 2020
After winning Priority Review from the US regulator in December 2019, Imfinzi (durvalumab) has now been approved as a first-line option for people with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). 30 March 2020
Numab has expanded its relationship with Japan’s Ono Pharmaceutical by executing another research and option agreement to discover and develop a multi-specific antibody drug candidate for the treatment of various cancers. 30 March 2020
Swiss pharma giant Novartis recently announced new anticipated long-term positive data for its one-time infusion gene therapy, Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi), which is set to help the drug generate global sales of $2.5 billion by 2025 and lead the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) market, says analyst. 30 March 2020
More details of Sanofi and Regeneron’s hotly-anticipated Phase II/III Kevzara (sarilumab) program targeting COVID-19 symptoms have been announced. 30 March 2020
Novartis has announced results from a prespecified analysis of pooled data from three Phase III studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of inclisiran, its first-in-class investigational treatment for hyperlipidemia in adults. 30 March 2020
Japan’s JCR Pharmaceuticals has reached an agreement to acquire ArmaGen, a privately held US biopharmaceutical company, along with all its assets. 27 March 2020
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines global business unit of French pharma major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN), and Translate Bio (Nasdaq: TBIO), a clinical-stage messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics company, will collaborate to develop a novel mRNA vaccine for COVID-19. 27 March 2020
Oxford University biotech spinout Evox Therapeutics has entered into a rare disease-focused partnership with Japan’s largest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical. 27 March 2020
Bristol-Myers Squibb has received US approval for Zeposia (ozanimod) for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, including clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease. 26 March 2020
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has published results from BELIEVE, the pivotal Phase III study evaluating the safety and efficacy of Reblozyl (luspatercept-aamt) for the treatment of anemia in adults with beta thalassemia who require regular red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. 26 March 2020
US biotech Alector and Chinese company Innovent Biologics have signed a regional licensing agreement to develop and commercialize AL008 for oncology indications in China. 26 March 2020
USA-based biotech Xencor has entered into a technology license agreement with Vir Biotechnology, in which Vir will have non-exclusive access to Xencor’s Xtend Fc technology to extend the half-life of novel antibodies that Vir is investigating as potential treatments for patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. 26 March 2020
US biotech Gilead Sciences said on Wednesday that it has submitted a request to the US Food and Drug Administration to rescind the orphan drug designation it was granted for the investigational antiviral remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 and is waiving all benefits that accompany the designation. 26 March 2020