Swedish drug developer Karolinska Development has appointed Bruno Lucidi as chief executive of the wholly-owned subsidiary KDev Oncology, and portfolio companies Aprea and Akinion Pharmaceuticals. 8 September 2014
Results from a Phase III study of Japanese drug major Eisai’s cancer therapy lenvatinib have shown a significant improvement in progression-free survival in radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer. 8 September 2014
The US Food and Drug Administration has accepted a New Drug Application filing by Japanese drug major Astellas Pharma for its fungal infection therapy isavuconazole. 8 September 2014
Japanese drugmaker Chugai Pharmaceutical said on Friday that it has launched the ALK inhibitor Alecensa (alectinib hydrochloride) for the indication of ALK fusion gene positive unresectable, recurrent/advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 7 September 2014
A new breast cancer vaccine candidate, GP2, provides further evidence of the potential of immunotherapy in preventing disease recurrence, reports EurekAlert. This is especially the case for high-risk patients when it is combined with a powerful immunotherapy drug. 7 September 2014
US clinical-stage biopharma firm Soligenix has acquired a novel orphan drug candidate, known as SGX301 (synthetic hypericin) from Yeda Research and Development, the commercial arm of Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. 5 September 2014
Shares of US biotech companies OncoMed Pharmaceuticals rose 5.6% to $17.68 on news that the US Food and Drug Administration removed the partial clinical hold on the company's ipafricept (FZD8-Fc, OMP-54F28) Phase I clinical trials. 5 September 2014
Swiss/Greek pharmaceutical and clinical research group Sellas Life Sciences Group has signed an exclusive global collaboration and license agreement with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for the development, marketing, and commercialization of MSK's proprietary WT1 cancer vaccine. 5 September 2014
The breast cancer therapeutics pipeline boasts a high degree of innovation in first-in-class molecules, with many new technologies holding the potential to transform the clinical and commercial treatment landscape over the coming decade, according to new a new report. 5 September 2014
The US Food and Drug Administration has granted accelerated approval for pharma giant Merck & Co’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for treatment of patients with advanced or unresectable melanoma who are no longer responding to other drugs, the agency announced late yesterday. 5 September 2014
UK-based drug discovery firm Redx Pharma says it has entered into a research collaboration with Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca to discover and develop new molecules targeting a genetic driver of tumor growth and survival. 4 September 2014
US pharma company AbbVie has entered a novel R&D collaboration with recently-formed Calico, intended to help the two companies discover, develop and bring to market new therapies for patients with age-related diseases, including for neurodegeneration and cancer. 4 September 2014
US drug discovery firm Infinity Pharmaceuticals has entered into a global collaboration with AbbVie to develop and commercialize duvelisib (IPI-145), Infinity’s oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)-delta and PI3K-gamma, for the treatment of patients with cancer. Infinity’s shares soared 43% to $15.63 in early trading this morning. 3 September 2014
Leading independent biotech firm Amgen has submitted a Marketing Authorization Application to the European Medicines Agency for talimogene laherparepvec seeking approval for the treatment of adults with melanoma that is regionally or distantly metastatic. 2 September 2014
US biotech firm Exelixis has posted disappointing top-line results from the final analysis of COMET-1, the Phase III pivotal trial of cabozantinib in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) whose disease progressed after treatment with docetaxel as well as abiraterone and/or enzalutamide. 2 September 2014
US clinical-stage biotech firm bluebird bio is advancing a pipeline focused on gene therapy, a rapidly expanding area that has attracted significant industry interest, note analysts at Edison Equity Research in a note on the company. 2 September 2014
French drugmaker Ipsen has received priority review for its supplemental New Drug Application from the US Food and Drug Administration for Somatuline Depot injection. 1 September 2014
US biotech firm OncoMed Pharmaceuticals saw its shares leap 9.9% to $21.58 on Thursday on news that the US Food and Drug Administration has removed the partial clinical hold on enrollment in the company's vantictumab (anti-Fzd7, OMP-18R5) Phase I clinical trials. 29 August 2014
The market for colorectal cancer (CRC) therapies will remain constant, at around $7.7 billion by 2023 in the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan, according to new research from Decision Resources Group. 29 August 2014
Privately-held US drugmakers Tau Therapeutics and Xdynia announced today that they have merged; the surviving entity in the merger, Tau Therapeutics, has been renamed Cavion. Financial terms were not disclosed. 29 August 2014
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
Pfizer released positive top line results from the final prespecified overall survival (OS) analysis of the TALAPRO-2 study of Talzenna (talazoparib), an oral poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, in combination with Xtandi (enzalutamide). 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
Cancer start-up Black Diamond Therapeutics has announced a significant restructuring as part of its plan to focus resources on its lead drug, BDTX-1535. 10 October 2024
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted for review the Marketing Authorization Applications for AVT03, a proposed biosimilar candidate to the Prolia and Xgeva (denosumab), submitted by Germany’s STADA Arzneimittel. 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
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
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
Bayer has entered into a collaboration with MOMA Therapeutics to develop a small molecule oncology program using the latter’s proprietary KNOMATIC platform. 9 October 2024
Genor Biopharma has announced plans for a significant merger with Edding Group, marking one of the first reverse takeovers involving a Hong Kong-listed biopharma company. 8 October 2024
China-headquartered clinical-stage biotech MediLink Therapeutics has announced a global clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with US major Amgen. 8 October 2024
Germany’s Eckert & Ziegler, a specialist in radioisotopes for medical, scientific and industrial applications, has announced a global clinical supply agreement with GlyTherix, an Australian targeted radiotherapy firm specializing in developing antibody radiopharmaceuticals for solid tumors. 8 October 2024
US clinical-stage biotech OnKure Therapeutics has announced the completion of its previously announced merger with Reneo Pharmaceuticals. 8 October 2024
Daejeon-based Orum Therapeutics, a specialist in degrader-antibody conjugates (DAC), has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on South Korea's Kosdaq market. 7 October 2024
Mosaic Therapeutics, a UK-based oncology therapeutics company dedicated to resolving cancer’s complexity to power new combination therapies for patients, has announced the appointment of Barry Davies as chief scientific officer. 7 October 2024