Michael Engsig, CEO of Oslo, Norway-based Vaccibody AS, said the company’s deal with Roche Holding AG lets his firm “fully set in motion” the plan to explore infectious diseases as well as cancer, and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) Agnete Fredriksen pointed out that “an exceptional cross-functional team” has been put in place to get the job done. Vaccibody signed the new contract with Basel, Switzerland-based Roche’s Genentech arm to develop and sell DNA-based individualized neoantigen vaccines for cancers. The tie-up brings as much as $715 million for Vaccibody.
HONG KONG – Tokyo-based Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Roche Holding AG, has received approval from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to add new indication to the list of those treatable with its combination of Tecentriq (atezolizumab) and Avastin (bevacizumab): unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Both medicines originated at Genentech Inc.
The always-busy American Society of Hematology meeting in December promises to include some especially intriguing datasets from the bispecific antibody space, as multiple players are likely to unveil findings related to their CD20xCD3 prospects.
DUBLIN – Genentech has succeeded where Sanofi SA and its partner, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., have failed, in obtaining some sort of a positive signal from a clinical trial of an interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibitor in COVID-19.
DUBLIN – Roche Holding AG is taking a second shot on the NLRP3 inflammasome by acquiring Dublin-based Inflazome Ltd. for €380 million (US$447.8 million) up front plus undisclosed milestones linked to the progress of its two clinical-stage candidates inzomelid and somalix. In terms of cash on the table, the deal is the largest yet for a portfolio of drug candidates that acts on the NLRP3 inflammasome, and it represents a profitable exit for Inflazome’s investors, who put €55 million into the company over two funding rounds, in 2016 and in 2018.
LONDON – CEOs of five leading biopharma companies have hit back against any suggestion COVID-19 vaccines and therapies could be approved in advance of phase III data, saying it is imperative the highest standards of quality, safety and efficacy are upheld everywhere. The most important thing is to reinforce to the public the commitment to safety as the number one priority, said Kenneth Frazier, CEO of Merck & Co. Inc.
HONG KONG – Tokyo-based Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has launched a subcutaneous injection of Enspryng (satralizumab) in Japan to prevent relapses of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), including neuromyelitis optica (NMO).
HONG KONG – Tokyo-based Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has launched a subcutaneous injection of Enspryng (satralizumab) in Japan to prevent relapses of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), including neuromyelitis optica (NMO).
The FDA’s go-ahead for Roche Holding AG’s Enspryng (satralizumab-mwge) in anti-aquaporin-4 antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder had watchers of the space weighing its market odds against two therapies approved earlier: Soliris (eculizumab) from Boston-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., and the more recently cleared Uplizna (inebilizumab-cdon) from Viela Bio Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md.
HONG KONG – Following FDA approval of its IND, Israel-based Kahr Medical Ltd. is set to start a phase I/II trial of lead product DSP-107, a second-generation CD47- and 41BB-targeting compound. The move puts Kahr among a number of companies working on drugs against checkpoint molecule CD47.
