Trillium Therapeutics Inc. has played a hot hand this week. The Cambridge, Mass.-based immune oncology company followed Sept. 8’s positive data from two dose-escalation phase I studies targeting CD47 by pricing a $130 million underwritten public offering of 10 million common shares at $13 each. The company said it plans to spend the net proceeds for ongoing and planned clinical trials. Gross proceeds are expected to be around $130 million, with the deal closing about Sept. 16. In addition to the upbeat data and offering, Pfizer Inc. has kicked in a $25 million equity investment in Trillium. Despite lackluster stock movement on Sept. 11, Trillium (NASDAQ:TRIL) posted a solid week. On Sept. 9, share value popped up 46% to close at $13.59 each. At midday Sept. 11, shares were going for $13.90.

Galapagos’ ziritaxestat hits primary endpoint in first systemic sclerosis study

Results from the first trial testing the oral autotaxin inhibitor, ziritaxestat, in adults with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis have encouraged its originator, Galapagos NV, to explore next steps for the program, it said Friday. Need in the indication is high, with no drugs currently approved to treat the overall disease. Galapagos' U.S.-listed shares (NASDAQ:GLPG) climbed 6.2% by midday as the news appeared to expand the potential applications of the candidate, a key element in the company's decade-long alliance with Gilead Sciences Inc. that is also in development for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Commission urges international cooperation, continuing research in gene editing report

LONDON – The international commission convened in the aftermath of Chinese scientist He Jiankui’s shock announcement of the birth of gene edited twins has set a possible course to approval of heritable gene editing, but said the technique is far from ready for use. At this time, it is not possible to specify how to move from research to clinical application because it is not possible to make precise edits, or avoid introducing off-target effects, the committee said.

Mechanism of long-term diabetes remission explored

Researchers at the Diabetes Institute of the University of Washington and the University of Copenhagen have implicated the brain in the ability of intracranial injections of fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) to restore blood sugar control to diabetic animals for long periods of time. Their studies appeared in the Sept. 7, 2020, online issues of Nature Communications and Nature Metabolism.

No peace in resting as narcolepsy face-off comes to life between Jazz, Avadel

A skirmish is shaping up between Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc and Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc in sleep disorders. Investors clipped shares of Avadel recently as anxieties rose over the application by Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc for a patent that relates to a once-nightly oxybate product that could threaten the prospects for Avadel’s FT-218. Dublin-based Jazz gained approval this summer for Xywav (calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium oxybates) for cataplexy and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in patients ages 7 and older with narcolepsy.

Drop in clinical news likely related to earlier COVID-19 delays

The volume of clinical data reported throughout the summer has continued to fall, with only 267 items collected in August, a drop of 10% from July and the lowest amount within the last five months. With hundreds of clinical trials negatively affected in prior months by the COVID-19 pandemic, the reduction in reportable events is not surprising. Still, 15% of the Phase I, II and III clinical briefs entered into the BioWorld database during August were focused on vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19.

Click Therapeutics and Boehringer Ingelheim partner on digital therapeutic for schizophrenia

Click Therapeutics and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH inked a deal valued at more than $500 million to collaborate on the development and commercialization of a prescription-based digital therapeutic for schizophrenia. The mobile application, currently called CT-155, uses cognitive and neurobehavioral techniques to reduce the negative symptoms of schizophrenia such as cognitive deficits and impaired social functioning.

Implementing AI in the drug discovery process is difficult but not impossible

HONG KONG – The use of artificial intelligence in drug discovery was back in the spotlight on the last day of the 2020 KoNECT-MOHW-MFDS International Conference, with drug developers pointing out the challenges and possible solutions.

Also in the news

Appili, Atara, Aura, Bicycle, Biocomo, Biogen, C4, Cancer Prevention, Celltrion, Clearside Biomedical, Clene Nanomedicine, Editas Medicine, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Greenwich Biosciences, Harbour Biomed, Hualan Genetic, ICER, Immunic, Immupharma, Intra-Cellular, Janssen, Junshi, Lavvan, LFB, Lyra, Medicinova, Partner, Prothena, Roche, Santhera, Seres, Sol-Gel Technologies, Spero, VBL