Cygnal Therapeutics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., was unveiled by Flagship Pioneering this week as a startup developing drugs targeting exoneural biology, an understanding of how nerves and neural signaling drive human health and disease. The company, led by CEO Pearl Huang, is focused initially on cancer and inflammatory disease.
WASHINGTON – Hot on the heels of July's FDA approval of Recarbrio (imipenem, cilastatin and relebactam) in complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs), Merck & Co. Inc. rolled out pivotal phase III data at the Infectious Disease Society of America's IDWeek 2019 that could support expanding its label to another high-need group, people with hospital-acquired or ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (HABP/VABP). Shionogi & Co. Ltd., which is advancing its investigational antibiotic, cefiderocol, in the same indications, also shared new phase III data supporting its use in the high-risk population.
PERTH, Australia – Australia is at risk of falling behind the U.S. and Europe in preventing recurrence of melanoma, the Melanoma Institute Australia warns. It is urging the Australian government to undertake a timely review of immunotherapy treatments effective in preventing the spread of melanoma and to fast track listings on the government-subsidized Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
After doing deals with big pharma — Eli Lilly and Co., Merck & Co. Inc., Abbvie Inc. and Bayer AG — Atomwise Inc. announced three partnerships last week with smaller preclinical companies to use its artificial intelligence (AI) platform to develop drugs for their targets.
There have been three oncology drug approvals by the U.S. FDA over the last few years that were based solely on a genetic biomarker, rather than the location in the body where the tumor originated. But to make this tissue-agnostic approach a reality for oncology patients, detecting those genetic biomarkers will have to become increasingly easy and standardized.
Companies developing RNA-based therapies are now attracting significant investments, and the technologies and emerging products in the field have become desirable assets for big biopharmaceutical companies. In fact, during the past two years 20 deals have been executed, according to BioWorld data. Notably, last month Merck & Co. Inc. inked a partnership with Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc. to lever its expertise in the discovery and development of small molecules that modulate RNA splicing, agreeing to pay Skyhawk up to $600 million per program target plus royalties on sales of any commercialized products of the collaboration.
MEXICO CITY – Merck Sharp & Dohme's MK-8591, a nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor (NRTTI), impressed in both treatment and prevention studies at the 2019 International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science.
Kalvista Pharmaceuticals Inc. made big news in October 2017 by way of its handsome deal with Merck & Co. Inc. to advance KVD-001, an intravitreal injection candidate to treat diabetic macular edema (DME).
Merck & Co. Inc. has tapped Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc. for its expertise in the discovery and development of small molecules that modulate RNA splicing, agreeing to pay it up to $600 million per program target plus royalties on sales of any commercialized products of the collaboration. The deal, focused on potential treatments for certain neurological diseases and cancer, was accompanied by news of an expansion of Skyhawk's collaboration with Biogen Inc., which originally signed on with the Waltham, Mass-based company in January.