Just shy of four years ago, MEI Pharma Inc. and Helsinn Group hashed out a $464 million deal to develop and commercialize pracinostat. Now an interim futility analysis has persuaded them to halt their phase III study in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) while, pending further evaluation, patients enrolled in other pracinostat studies continue their treatment.
A pair of good-news items from Chimerix Inc. pushed the Durham, N.C.-based company’s stock (NASDAQ:CMRX) to $2.15, closing up 64 cents, or 42%, higher as backers reacted to near-term NDA plans for smallpox countermeasure brincidofovir (BCV) and the start of a phase II/III trial with dociparstat sodium (DSTAT) in COVID-19 patients with acute lung injury (ALI).
As organisms adapt to their environment, adaptations that serve them in their current environment can become liabilities if that environment changes. The control of traits that are an asset in one situation and a liability by the same gene is called antagonistic pleiotropy. In the March 16, 2020, online issue of Nature Genetics, researchers reported a method to systematically identify mutations that conferred antagonistic pleiotropy – in the form of resistance to one drug, but heightened sensitivity to another – in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells.
Gilead Sciences Inc. will acquire Forty Seven Inc. for $4.9 billion, or $95.50 per share in cash, bringing Gilead magrolimab, an anti-CD47 monoclonal antibody being developed to treat several cancers, including myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
Aptevo Therapeutics Inc.’s chief scientific officer, Jane Gross, told BioWorld that the sale of the firm’s marketed recombinant hemophilia B therapeutic, Ixinity, to Medexus Pharmaceuticals Inc. allowed for a “cleaner message” to Wall Street. “It was a little difficult to explain having a commercial asset and an R&D pipeline,” she said.
DUBLIN – Advanced Biodesign SAS secured €9 million (US$9.8 million) in new funding commitments to take its lead drug candidate, ABD-3001, into a phase I trial in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The Lyon, France-based firm is investigating a novel drug mechanism associated with cancer cell metabolism, which could have application across several cancer types.
DUBLIN – Bergenbio ASA raised NOK219.9 million (US$23.9 million) in a private placement priced at NOK18 per share. The fresh injection of cash will enable the Bergen, Norway-based firm to expand its broad development program for lead drug candidate bemcentinib (BGB-324), a first-in-class Axl inhibitor, which is currently in phase II development in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), triple-negative breast cancer and melanoma.
HONG KONG – Bionetix Inc., of Suwon, South Korea, has secured ₩10.8 billion (US$9.33 million) in series B funding. The biotech, founded in February 2017, has attracted a total of KRW14.7 billion to date. The company will use the funds to advance NTX-301, a therapy for myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukemia (MDS/AML) with epigenetic dysregulation, and NTX-101, a glaucoma treatment.
ORLANDO, Fla. – Data from two studies from Forty Seven Inc. announced at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting moved the market in a major way Monday as the company stock (NASDAQ:FTSV) soared 111% to close at $30.43, up $15.99.
DUBLIN – After four years in stealth mode, Arcellx Inc. finally emerged onto open ground, with an $85.7 million series B round under its belt and plans to take its two lead "intelligent" cell therapy programs into clinical development in multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia.
