Backers of Boston-based Elicio Therapeutics Inc. may have jumped the gun as they ran away from the firm after data were made public from the phase II Amplify-7P study testing ELI-002 7P in adjuvant KRAS-mutation-driven pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) following standard locoregional therapy. Wainwright analyst Robert Burns said the results are “more nuanced than they appear” and the sell-off represents “an attractive entry point” for investors. Shares (NASDAQ:ELTX) closed June 15 at $4.08, down $10.77, or 72%, in the wake of news that the trial missed the pre-specified primary endpoint of disease-free survival (DFS) in the intent-to-treat population.
With the trial sites now open for its CRISPR-edited T-cell receptor immunotherapy trial, Anocca AB has raised SEK440 million (US$46 million) to fund the phase I part of the multicenter study to completion. The company’s engineered T-cell receptor T-cell therapy (TCR-T) is first being tested against KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer.
With a packed pipeline of drug candidates targeting multiple markers of cancer, Bayer AG signed on for a new project, this time going after the KRAS pathway with a global deal that could bring Kumquat Biosciences Inc. up to $1.3 billion in payments.
Early phase I data for Revolution Medicines Inc.’s RAS(ON) G12D-selective inhibitor zoldonrasib encouraged both the company and the analysts. Initial study data produced a 61% objective response rate in 11 solid tumor patients receiving the 1,200-mg dose once a day. The disease control rate for 16 patients came in at 89%.
Anocca AB has secured the first regulatory authorization in Europe for a CRISPR-Cas gene-edited T-cell receptor T-cell therapy trial, with the phase I/II study now due to start over the next three months at sites in Sweden, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Silexion Therapeutics Corp. has announced an expanded development plan for its next-generation siRNA candidate SIL-204. The new dual-route strategy will integrate intratumoral and systemic administration to target both primary tumors and metastases, respectively, to treat KRAS-driven pancreatic cancer.
Insilico Medicine founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov told BioWorld that he tries to spend as much time as possible in China, because that's where the artificial intelligence (AI) drug development company conducts synthesis and tests for early stage discovery. “And nowadays, not a day goes by without somebody launching an AI drug discovery company,” he said, noting that Chinese AI company Deepseek could be a huge disrupter.
Insilico Medicine founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov told BioWorld that he tries to spend as much time as possible in China, because that's where the artificial intelligence (AI) drug development company conducts synthesis and tests for early stage discovery. “And nowadays, not a day goes by without somebody launching an AI drug discovery company,” he said, noting that Chinese AI company Deepseek could be a huge disrupter.
Understanding the mechanisms of resistance to cancer treatments is necessary to find effective therapies at different stages of the disease. Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center studied the most frequent mutation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), identified an escape route to a therapy in clinical trials, blocked it with another experimental compound and reduced tumors in mice.
