Johnson & Johnson is adding to its dermatology portfolio with the $850 million purchase of privately held Proteologix Inc. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company brings with it two bispecific antibodies. Proteologix has PX-128, which targets IL-13 plus thymic stromal lymphopoietin for treating moderate to severe atopic dermatitis and moderate to severe asthma, and PX-130, which also targets IL-13 plus IL-22, for treating moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. Johnson & Johnson said the programs involve two different combinations of disease-driving pathways, an advance from other treatments that only target one. The deal is expected to close in the middle of this year.

Lilly scores with weekly insulin in phase III

Eli Lilly and Co.’s once-weekly insulin efsitora alfa succeeded in top-line results from the Qwint-2 and Qwint-4 phase III trials testing the drug in adults with type 2 diabetes using insulin for the first time as well as those who require multiple daily injections. In the treat-to-target experiments, efsitora showed noninferior A1C reduction compared to the most commonly used daily basal insulins worldwide, Lilly said. The product was just as safe, too, according to the Indianapolis-based firm.

US Biosecure bill zooms through committee to House floor

The Biosecure Act passed its first milestone yesterday when the U.S. House Oversight Committee voted 40-1 to favorably report the bill to the full House for a vote. Under the act, H.R. 8333, federal agencies are prohibited from procuring biotechnology equipment or services from a biotechnology “company of concern” and from contracting, either directly or through a subcontract, with anyone that would use such equipment or services to perform the contract. “This bipartisan, bicameral bill prevents U.S. tax dollars from flowing to biotechnology companies that are owned, operated or controlled by China or other foreign adversaries,” Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said following the committee markup.

Decades of studies on gene and cell therapies lead to ASGCT hits

The success of a vaccine, a gene editing design for an untreated disease, or achieving cell engraftment after several attempts, comes from years of accumulated basic science studies, thousands of experiments, and clinical trials. Innumerable steps precede hits in gene and cell therapies before a first-time revelation, and most of them are failures at the time. At the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) in Baltimore last week, several groups of scientists presented achievements that years ago looked impossible.

Zai Lab exec buys stock as Augtyro, Vyvgart SC advances in China

Zai Lab Ltd., of Shanghai and Cambridge, Mass., has been on a regulatory roll in China, gaining approval of Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s Augtyro (repotrectinib) for lung cancer on May 12 and NMPA acceptance of subcutaneous Vyvgart‘s (efgartigimod alfa SC) supplemental BLA with priority review on May 14.

Report leads to NIH rebuke, suspension of Ecohealth

Citing the need to protect the public interest, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) yesterday ordered an immediate government-wide funding suspension of Ecohealth Alliance Inc. while formal debarment proceedings are pending against the New York-based nongovernmental organization. The temporary suspension includes a hold on all active grants awarded to the group. HHS’ decision follows a recommendation made by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and is partially based on evidence included in a staff report recently released by that subcommittee, which detailed Ecohealth’s violation of its NIH grant and its facilitation of gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. The report also calls into question the NIH’s oversight of overseas research it funds.

BioWorld Insider Podcast: Fibrobiologics walks the unconventional financing path

A non-traditional route for financing has been the path to success for Fibrobiologics Inc. In the newest BioWorld Insider podcast, CEO Pete O’Heeron offers insight into the company’s unusual path to a Nasdaq listing in January. SPACs, reverse mergers and traditional IPOs weren’t attractive enough for Fibrobiologics’ management or board, so they decided to go public through a direct listing with no banks as underwriters. It took about seven months to get the company ready for its listing, an around-the-clock effort that O’Heeron said was worth the effort. “We couldn’t be more happy with the outcome,” he said.

BioWorld reader feedback needed: Cyberattack impact survey

The recent cyberattack on Change Healthcare, a part of the Unitedhealth Group, crippled reimbursement claims processing for thousands of providers for several weeks and potentially exposed troves of patient data. Congressional committees are investigating the attack, its scope, and Unitedhealth’s response. Are there downstream impacts that are being overlooked in the biopharmaceutical and/or medical technology sectors? Please take a few minutes to fill out this short survey to help BioWorld understand how your company is responding to these threats. You can click through to the questions here.

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