Merck KGaA and Cancer Research Technology Ltd. have synthesized 2,8-dihydropyrazolo[3,4-b]indoles acting as transcriptional coactivator YAP1/transcriptional enhancer factor (TEAD) interaction inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disorders and liver fibrosis.
Merck KGaA has struck a collaboration and option-to-license deal with Nerviano Medical Sciences Srl centered around NMS-293, a next-generation PARP-1 inhibitor already in early clinical development for brain tumors. Merck is making a play for the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor market, first opened up in December 2014 by Astrazeneca plc, when Lynparza (olaparib) was first approved in advanced ovarian cancer, going on to become a blockbuster through a partnership with Merck & Co Inc.
Merck KGaA provided details on the discovery of MSC-4106, an orally active lead compound binding to the lipidation pocket (P-site) of the TEAD1 transcription factor and capable of disrupting its interaction with the transcriptional cofactors YAP and TEAZ, thereby preventing the formation of the YAP/TAZ-TEAD transcriptional complex.
Etherna Immunotherapies NV has raised €39 million (US$39 million) in new financing as it pivots to an mRNA-platform strategy. It has added a couple of heavy hitters to its board and its roster of investors, indicating that the move has already gained traction in the marketplace.
Canwell Biotech Ltd. raised more than ¥100 million (US$14.8 million) in a series A+ financing. The funds will help accelerate trials for its pipeline of anticancer assets, such as the TLR7 agonist CAN-1012, and preclinical development of other projects too, CEO Henry Yu told BioWorld. The State Development and Investment Corporation Venture Capital Co. Ltd. was the round’s sole investor.
Idrx Inc. launched with a $122 million oversubscribed series A round to boost precision drug combinations in cancer, with a first focus on non-PDGFR-driven gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). The Plymouth, Mass.-based firm aims to develop a pairing, potentially with add-ons, powerful enough to handle existing mutations and those that turn up during treatment. Combo therapy attacks “not just the driver mutations, but also the key secondary mutations,” co-founder and CEO Ben Auspitz told BioWorld, and thereby “block every escape route the cancer has.”
Big pharma is increasingly turning to Taiwan to leverage the power of the country’s data and computing power as precision medicine takes center stage in drug development, speakers said during the recent BIO Asia-Taiwan conference in Taipei.
Keeping innovation growing at a fast clip while retaining new global supply chain capacity built up during the pandemic were the main topics of discussion at the Bio Asia-Taiwan conference July 27 in Taipei. With the theme of the conference, “Connecting the Asia Value Chain,” Taiwan Vice President Ching-Te Lai said the pandemic has demonstrated Taiwan’s resilience as well as the strength of the global biopharma industry.
Keeping innovation growing at a fast clip while retaining new global supply chain capacity built up during the pandemic were the main topics of discussion at the Bio Asia-Taiwan conference July 27 in Taipei. With the theme of the conference, “Connecting the Asia Value Chain,” Taiwan Vice President Ching-Te Lai said the pandemic has demonstrated Taiwan’s resilience as well as the strength of the global biopharma industry.
