DUBLIN – Liquid biopsy developer Freenome Inc. has – literally – capitalized on its recent proof-of-concept AI-Emerge colorectal cancer (CRC) screening study by raising $270 million in a series C round that will enable the South San Francisco firm to complete its ongoing Preempt CRC registration study and to file for pre-market approval from the FDA.
The juggernaut that is Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.’s Enhertu continued to roll into this weekend’s American Society of Clinical Oncology virtual meeting, bringing momentum from its December FDA approval for HER2-positive breast cancer, along with fresh data from three new studies in other indications.
The juggernaut that is Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.’s Enhertu continued to roll into this weekend’s American Society of Clinical Oncology virtual meeting, bringing momentum from its December FDA approval for HER2-positive breast cancer, along with fresh data from three new studies in other indications.
SAN FRANCISCO – Investor confidence in Exact Sciences Corp. has started to stumble in recent months. The Madison, Wis.-based company’s valuation peaked at about $15.5 billion just a few short weeks after it announced that it would acquire Genomic Health Inc. in late July. Its market cap trajectory has been uneven since and took another hit when the company preannounced 2019 earnings at the J.P. Morgan (JPM) Healthcare Conference, falling to around $13.5 billion.
Check-Cap Ltd., of Isfiya, Israel, reported positive results from a U.S. pilot study of its C-Scan System, a preparation-free, ingestible scanning capsule-based technology aimed at preventing colorectal cancer (CRC) through early detection of precancerous polyps. The company is currently preparing an IDE submission with the U.S. FDA and plans to launch a pivotal clinical trial in late 2020.
BEIJING – Jinan, China-based Qilu Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has won the first approval for a China-developed biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab, Roche Holding AG). Its biosimilar QL-1101, to be sold under the trade name Ankada, has been approved to treat advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer and metastatic colorectal cancer.
BEIJING – Jinan, China-based Qilu Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has won the first approval for a China-developed biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab, Roche Holding AG). Its biosimilar QL-1101, to be sold under the trade name Ankada, has been approved to treat advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer and metastatic colorectal cancer.
HONG KONG – South Korean biomarker-based molecular diagnostic firm Genomictree Inc. has built a U.S. unit in Pasadena, Calif., with an investment of KRW12 billion (US$10 million). The Daejeon, South Korean-based company first disclosed its plan to build the U.S. branch in March.
Liquid biopsy startup Freenome Inc., of South San Francisco, reeled in $160 million in a series B financing that was led by RA Capital Management and Polaris Partners. The funds are earmarked to advance Freenome's multiomics blood testing platform for early cancer detection and to grow its laboratory and software capabilities.
