Being in a crowded space doesn’t bother recently installed Arch Oncology Inc. CEO Laurence Blumberg. As a matter of fact, he’s reassured by it. “There’s a lot of competition in CD47, that’s correct,” Blumberg told BioWorld. “But having been in industry for a long time, competition and the magnitude of that competition in pursuit of a target usually means there’s a good reason for that interest and that there’s compelling evidence it has utility.”
As developers continue their race in the anti-CD47 space, Gilead Sciences Inc. remains high profile with magrolimab, which has reached phase III development for myelodysplastic syndromes. Meanwhile, Alx Oncology Inc., of Burlingame, Calif., is emerging with potentially the first drug targeting the CD47-SIRPa axis to treat solid tumors as well as hematologic malignancies.
LONDON - Scenic Biotech BV has signed up Genentech as first partner for its high-throughput platform for identifying genetic modifiers that can suppress or even completely block the effect of a disease-causing mutated gene, as starting points for drug discovery and development. Under the terms of the agreement, Scenic will identify modifiers in undisclosed therapeutic areas, with Genentech, part of the Roche Group, having an option to take multiple targets into development.
Trillium Therapeutics Inc. is playing a hot hand. The immuno-oncology company followed recently revealed positive data from two dose-escalation phase I studies targeting CD47 by pulling down a $25 million equity investment from Pfizer Inc. Now the company has priced a $130 million underwritten public offering of 10 million common shares at $13 each.
A nearly $2 billion global development and commercialization deal with Abbvie Inc. and a $418 million private placement have bolstered I-Mab Biopharma Co. Ltd.’s position globally. I-Mab framed the deal as being the largest out-licensing and global partnership transaction ever executed by a China-based biotech. Abbvie and I-Mab plan to develop and commercialize the anti-CD47 monoclonal antibody lemzoparlimab for treating multiple cancers globally, with the exception of China. Lemzoparlimab, also called TJC-4, is Shanghai-based I-Mab’s discovery and its lead cancer therapy. The company will get an up-front $180 million by licensing the highly differentiated antibody to Abbvie, along with a $20 million milestone payment based on phase I results.
A nearly $2 billion global development and commercialization deal with Abbvie Inc. and a $418 million private placement have bolstered I-Mab Biopharma Co. Ltd.’s position globally. I-Mab framed the deal as being the largest out-licensing and global partnership transaction ever executed by a China-based biotech.
HONG KONG – Following FDA approval of its IND, Israel-based Kahr Medical Ltd. is set to start a phase I/II trial of lead product DSP-107, a second-generation CD47- and 41BB-targeting compound. The move puts Kahr among a number of companies working on drugs against checkpoint molecule CD47.
The checkpoint molecule CD47 has high hopes riding on it in oncology as being the innate immune equivalent of PD-1. Multiple companies are developing blockers against CD47 and/or its ligand, SIRPa, for the treatment of various tumors.
The checkpoint molecule CD47 has high hopes riding on it in oncology as being the innate immune equivalent of PD-1. Multiple companies are developing blockers against CD47 and/or its ligand, SIRPa, for the treatment of various tumors.
BEIJING – Suzhou-based Innovent Biologics Inc. has inked a deal with Alector Inc. to obtain the rights of the U.S. biotech’s AL-008 to develop and commercialize it for oncology indications in China.
