Poseida Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTX) were trading midday at $4.20, up $1.77, or 72%, as Wall Street reacted to the collaboration and licensing deal with Roche Holding AG that brings $110 million up front as well as the same amount in near-term milestone payments described by Poseida CEO Mark Gergen as “highly achievable,” and the arrangement could be worth as much as $6 billion if goals further down the road are met. The companies are working on allogeneic CAR T therapies directed to hematologic malignancies. The global pact covers multiple existing and novel off-the-shelf cell therapies against targets in multiple myeloma, B-cell lymphomas and other indications. Poseida keeps rights to its solid tumor programs.

Kiniksa gets $100M up front from Genentech for monoclonal antibody

Genentech Inc. is paying Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. $100 million up front for the development and commercialization rights to vixarelimab, a fully human monoclonal antibody. Kiniksa also could receive up to approximately $600 million in certain clinical, regulatory and sales-based milestones. Genentech plans to develop vixarelimab, which targets oncostatin M receptor beta, as a fibrosis treatment. Kiniksa’s stock (NASDAQ:KNSA) reacted well to the deal as shares were up more than 10% in early trading but had settled to about half that at midday. Kiniksa has vixarelimab (KPL-716) in a phase II study for treating prurigo nodularis, a chronic skin disorder. The Genentech agreement comes soon after Huadong Medicine Co. Ltd. acquired Asia-Pacific rights to two drugs from Kiniksa targeted at autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in a deal worth up to $662 million.

Researchers reprogram stem cells to uncover new genetic signatures of age-related AMD

Researchers are closer to better diagnosing and treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD) after discovering new genetic signatures of the disease by reprogramming stem cells to generate high-resolution disease models.

Sweet news for global investors in diabetes devices and therapies

A rash of recent announcements in the diabetes market speak to the brisk pace of developments and keen competition in the field. Dexcom Inc. reported good news in the U.K. and Europe, offset by delays in the U.S., while Insulet Corp. gave investors assurance that it was moving full speed ahead in the release of its Omnipod system. On the pharma side, Arecor Therapeutics plc signed a contingent agreement to acquire Tetris Pharma BV and commercialize Ogluo in the U.K., EU and other countries.

History a barometer of the impact of price controls on drug innovation

No one denies that fewer new drugs will be a consequence of the Medicare drug pricing provisions the Democrats are hoping to push through the U.S. Congress ahead of the midterm election campaign season. Even the Congressional Budget Office has advised that the savings delivered by the negotiation process laid out in the renamed Inflation Reduction Act will come at the cost of new drugs. That warning is borne out of the experience in other countries that have imposed price controls on drugs over the past half century. Their experience shows that the impact of price controls on the reduction in new drugs won’t be felt for several years, but it will happen – after many of the current lawmakers demanding the U.S. government’s involvement in setting drug prices have retired from the scene.

Extending the human lifespan: Aging is not an endpoint – new regulatory, reimbursement approaches needed

If anti-aging drugs are to become widely available and adopted, especially in the U.S., they have some serious hurdles to overcome. And those hurdles aren’t all in the lab or clinic. With classes of anti-aging drugs already in the pipeline, “the biggest hurdle is FDA approval. Then reimbursement,” said George Kuchel, a professor and director of the UConn Center on Aging at the University of Connecticut. Read the final installment of BioWorld’s multipart series on extending the human lifespan.

The BioWorld Insider Podcast

In Extending the human lifespan, a BioWorld special report, the team examined the latest science, the key biological drivers that can be targeted pharmacologically and the companies developing potential “Fountain of Youth” candidate drugs. In this episode of the BioWorld Insider Podcast, the team discussed the report’s highlights and key takeaways.  

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3sbio, Abcellera, Aeon, Allarity, Alzecure, Apie, Arcutis, Athira, Avalo, Axcella, Bavarian Nordic, Bicycle, Biontech, Bio-Thera, Caladrius, Calidi, Caris, Cellectis, Conjugate, Context, Corium, Cosmo, Defence, Eliem, Eyam, Fasigma, Forma, Genkore, Glycostem, Halozyme, Immunotherapeutics, Kintara, Krystal, Maia, Medac, Menarini, Ocuterra, Orca, Pfizer, Pharming, Polypid, Propanc, Quantro, Rigel, Salarius, Satsuma, Sofar, Structure, Takeda, Tavanta, Tonix, Transcode, Vaxxinity, Volitionrx, Visiox, Xencor