Shares of Viridian Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN) were trading at $16.06, up $1.87, or 13% on positive top-line data from the Thrive phase III trial of VRDN-001, or veligrotug, an intravenously delivered anti-insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) antibody, in patients with active thyroid eye disease (TED). Thrive, which enrolled 113 patients, met the primary and all secondary endpoints at 15 weeks after five infusions of veligrotug, showing highly statistically significant (p<0.0001) improvements on all of the measured signs and symptoms of TED. The IGF-1R approach boasts a rapid onset of action, too, with the majority (53%) of veligrotug-treated patients achieving a proptosis response after one infusion, or three weeks after start of therapy.

Bayer has more positive phase III data in treating hot flashes

The third of three late-stage studies from Bayer AG in treating menopausal symptoms with elinzanetant has produced positive data. Pivotal phase III Oasis 3 study data met its primary endpoint with a statically significant reduction in the frequency of severe vasomotor symptoms, better known as hot flashes, compared to placebo. Bayer said in August that it had submitted an NDA to the U.S. FDA for the indication based on positive data released in May from the phase III Oasis 1 and 2 studies of elinzanetant in the same indication. The small-molecule dual antagonist of both the neurokinin-1 and -3 receptors was originally developed by GSK plc, then by Kandy Therapeutics Inc. and Nerre Therapeutics Ltd. before being acquired in 2020 by Bayer.

US Biosecure Act one step closer to becoming law

The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed the Biosecure Act last night with a vote of 306-81. The next stop on the bill’s path to enactment is a Senate vote, and then the president’s desk. “The House just sent a powerful, bipartisan message to the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]: the United States will not sit idly by while the CCP steals our genetic data and seeks to control our biotech supply chains,” Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) said following the House vote. As a sponsor of the bill and chair of the House Select Committee on U.S.-China Competition, Moolenaar called on the Senate to expeditiously pass the legislation. Meanwhile, other sponsors of the bill are looking for ways to further secure the U.S. biotechnology ecosystem by revitalizing the domestic biopharma industry to ensure supply chains are safe and to provide the best therapies.

Chinabio 2024: Chinese biotechs increasingly nimble in terms of deal structure  

As geopolitical tensions rise between the U.S. and China, building cross-border relationships is more important than ever, said panelists during the Chinabio Partnering Forum in Shanghai Sept. 10. China is the second-largest pharma market in the world and is expected to exceed $200 billion over the next five years, and it is increasingly being recognized for its role in adding to the global innovative pipeline, Helen Chen, greater China managing partner at L.E.K. Consulting, said during a panel discussion with multinational pharma leaders.

Focusing on tumor cells brings insights into cancer neuroscience

By looking at the electrical activity of tumor cells, rather than the neurons that innervate them, investigators at Baylor College of Medicine have added both basic and translational insights to the emerging field of cancer neuroscience. In their studies, which were published in Cancer Cell on Sept. 5, 2024, the researchers identified the cell of origin for IDH-mutated gliomas. They also demonstrated that tumor cells were able to fire action potentials – which to date has been considered exclusively a neuronal ability in the brain.

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