Imcheck Therapeutics SAS’s gamma-delta T-cell activating antibody has become a poster child for the French government’s plan to reduce dependence on imports of biopharmaceuticals by directly supporting domestic development and manufacture of 20 novel products by 2030. The Marseille-based company has been awarded nondilutive public funding of €20.18 million (US$22.4 million) as part of the €54 billion France 2030 strategy, which aims to restore the country’s industrial competitiveness.
Moderna Inc.’s shares (NASDAQ:MRNA) sank 19% to a $64.11 low in early trading Sept. 12 as investors learned during the annual R&D Day event of a $1.1 billion reduction to R&D and the U.S. FDA’s reluctance to support an accelerated approval filing for its individualized neoantigen therapy for melanoma.
Microbiotica Ltd. is poised to advance two of its microbiome-derived products into the clinic after securing regulatory approval and fresh finance. The first live bacterial therapeutic, MB-097, will be tested in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in patients with advanced melanoma who have not responded to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The second product, MB-310, is a once-daily oral therapy for treating the inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis.
Microbiotica Ltd. is poised to advance two of its microbiome-derived products into the clinic after securing regulatory approval and fresh finance. The first live bacterial therapeutic, MB-097, will be tested in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in patients with advanced melanoma who have not responded to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The second product, MB-310, is a once-daily oral therapy for treating the inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis.
Enliven Therapeutics Inc. has divulged Raf kinase inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer. An exemplified compound (Ex 5 [isomer B] pg 130) inhibited ERK phosphorylation in human melanoma A-375 cells (IC50=12.4 nM) in ELISA assays.
Researchers at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) and Université Côte d'Azur have divulged amidinourea derivatives reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, in particular for BRAF inhibitor-resistant melanoma.
Scientists at Aten Porus Lifesciences Pvt Ltd. and Avammune Therapeutics Inc. have synthesized double-stranded RNA-specific adenosine deaminase (ADAR; ADAR1; IFI-4) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
CDR-Life Inc. has expanded its pipeline of novel T-cell engagers (TCE) with the addition of CDR-813 and CDR-505. CDR-813 is a highly potent and selective TCE candidate targeting tumors expressing PRAME (preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma) in HLA-A*02:01 patients.
Odimma Therapeutics SAS has developed ODI-2001, a new biological from the combination of neoantigen-expressing DNA vector, an anti-CTLA-4 antibody and an attenuated poxvirus with the aim of increasing the immune response against tumors.
In an indication with few treatment options for patients who are running out of time, Replimune Group Inc. revealed positive top-line results of its lead candidate, RP-1 (vusolimogene oderparepvec), in anti-PD-1-failed melanoma. Data from the phase I/II Ignyte study of RP-1 plus Opdivo (nivolumab, Bristol Myers Squibb Co.) showed the treatment hit the primary endpoint with a 12-month overall response rate of 33.6% and a median duration of response of more than 35 months.
