The amount of clinical news in 2022 continues to lag last year, partly due to a decline in COVID-19-related data. Through the last week of September, there have been a total of 2,495 phase I, II and III clinical entries, compared with 3,027 during the first three quarters of 2021. This represents a drop in activity of 17.6%.
With financings, U.S. FDA approvals and mergers and acquisitions all tracking behind last year, why would clinical data be any different? According to BioWorld research, clinical trial reports are down by 16.2% this year. The number of efforts targeting the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the proportion of data focused on infectious diseases, are also dropping.
Beigene Ltd.’s tislelizumab met its primary endpoint of noninferior overall survival vs. sorafenib as a first-line treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), marking the eighth positive phase III trial readout for the anti-PD-1 drug across multiple cancer types and lines of therapy.
Beigene Ltd.’s tislelizumab met its primary endpoint of noninferior overall survival vs. sorafenib as a first-line treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), marking the eighth positive phase III trial readout for the anti-PD-1 drug across multiple cancer types and lines of therapy.
The volume of clinical data in 2022 is down by 16.9% from last year. Pandemic efforts are still decreasing while three therapeutic areas dominate the news. Through the last week of July, there have been a total of 1,997 clinical entries, compared with 2,402 by this point in 2021.
Clinical data readouts in 2022 have fallen by 14.8% in comparison with the same timeframe last year, and more than half of all reports are for drugs and biologics targeting three major therapeutic areas. In the first six months of the year, there have been 1,707 clinical entries, compared with 2,004 last year.
About 56% of the clinical data recorded by BioWorld in 2022 target therapies for oncology, as well as infectious and neurological diseases, but news on COVID-19 efforts continue to dwindle compared with last year.
More than a quarter of all clinical data reported this year are targeting cancer indications, as pandemic news dips and overall activity drops by 12.5%.
Ark Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s phase III testing its ziresovir in infants hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection produced positive top-line results, meeting both the primary endpoint of reduction in signs and symptoms (S&S) score (p=0.002) and a key secondary endpoint of reduction in viral load (p=0.006) compared with placebo. The company said it is the first oral RSV antiviral to be successful in phase III.
Ark Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s phase III testing its ziresovir in infants hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection produced positive top-line results, meeting both the primary endpoint of reduction in signs and symptoms (S&S) score (p=0.002) and a key secondary endpoint of reduction in viral load (p=0.006) compared with placebo. The company said it is the first oral RSV antiviral to be successful in phase III.
