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.
UCB SA, a Belgian company developing an antibody targeting a toxic protein tied to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), said Roche Holding AG has negotiated an exclusive global license to the potential therapy for $120 million up front, plus almost $2 billion in milestone payments following positive proof of concept for the anti-tau candidate, UCB-0107, in AD.
HONG KONG – Osaka, Japan-based Shionogi & Co Ltd. continues to make global inroads with its influenza treatment, Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil), submitting supplemental new drug applications in Japan and Taiwan for a post-exposure prophylaxis indication on the back of positive results from its phase III trials.
DUBLIN – Roche Holding AG has joined Jnana Therapeutics Inc. in its quest to drug the human repertoire of solute carrier (SLC) metabolite transporters as a means of tackling a swath of immune-mediated and neurological diseases. The Basel, Switzerland-based pharma is paying Boston-based Jnana $40 million up front and could pay over $1 billion more in research funding, preclinical, development and commercial milestones, as well as sales royalties, in a multitarget deal.
