In a move that saw shares tumble by 26%, Biosenic SA has halted a phase IIb trial for its allogeneic stem cell therapy, Allob, after it failed to accelerate healing when given to patients two days after they sustained tibial fractures. The company plans to shift its focus to its late-stage arsenic trioxide candidate for chronic graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD).
Patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes had a 44% reduction in liver fat after receiving Inventiva Pharma SA’s PPAR agonist, lanifibranor, in a phase II trial, findings that caused the Daix, France-based company’s stock to soar.
HER2-targeting bispecific antibody zanidatamab, in development by Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc and Zymeworks Inc., produced better antitumor responses than current standard of care when used as a second-line treatment for biliary tract cancer (BTC) in a pivotal phase IIb study, bringing it closer to becoming the first therapy to target HER2-expressing BTC.
Buoyed by the progress it has made with its lead integrin therapy for moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, MORF-057, which significantly reduced disease activity in a phase IIa trial, Morphic Therapeutic Inc. is raising $240 million in a public offering to further advance the candidate through the clinic.
The proportion of clinical data focused on COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines has dropped from 21.3% in 2020 at the height of the pandemic to only 7.7% for 2022.
Nearing the end of 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic clearly no longer dominates the clinical activity reported by biopharma companies. Overall clinical data tracked by BioWorld is down significantly, as is the proportion focused on the SARS-Cov-2 virus. Therapeutics and vaccines targeting cancer, infectious diseases and neurological disorders, however, remain a stronghold.
Nearing the end of 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic clearly no longer dominates the clinical activity reported by biopharma companies. Overall clinical data tracked by BioWorld is down significantly, as is the proportion focused on the SARS-Cov-2 virus. Therapeutics and vaccines targeting cancer, infectious diseases and neurological disorders, however, remain a stronghold.
Shares in Inventiva SA (Paris:IVAA) fell about 18% after development partner Abbvie Inc. quit development of the inflammatory disease drug cedirogant following an unfavorable readout from a phase II toxicology study. The companies had worked on the asset together for about a decade. Inventiva emerged from Abbott in 2012, before the healthcare giant split in 2013 to form pharma specialist Abbvie and Abbott Laboratories, focused on medical devices.
Clinical data through the last week of October 2022 has dropped 17% in comparison with 2021. So far in 2022, there have been a total of 2,812 phase I, II and III clinical entries, compared with 3,389 during the first 10 months of 2021.
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%.
