It has been a tough spring for Fibrogen Inc., which reported another phase III miss on June 7, this time for rare disease drug pamrevlumab to treat non-ambulatory patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
Standing as one of the more prominent among incurable conditions, Parkinson’s disease (PD) still hasn’t met a medicine or surgical intervention that can slow or stop progression, despite efforts of many drug developers testing new strategies.
When combined with chemotherapy, the PD-1 inhibitor antibody toripalimab reduced the risk of death by 37% over chemotherapy alone when used first line in patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Coherus Biosciences Inc. revealed at this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting (ASCO).
Gracell Biotechnologies Inc. is initiating two clinical trials in China in refractory systemic lupus erythematosus for lead candidate GC-012F, a CD19/B-cell maturation antigen dual-targeting CAR T.
Impressive data continue to roll out for Day One Biopharmaceuticals Inc.’s tovorafenib in pediatric low-grade glioma, with results from 69 evaluable patients with relapsed or progressive disease showing a 67% overall response rate, as measured by Response Assessment for Neuro-Oncology High-Grade Glioma, in the phase II Firefly-1 trial.
Positive data from two studies treating early breast cancer with CDK4/6 inhibitors presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago showed progress is helping patients live longer. The two treatments and companies, Novartis AG and Eli Lilly and Co., are nearly head-to-head competitors in the niche indication.
HER2-targeting bispecific antibody zanidatamab, in development by Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc and Zymeworks Inc., produced better antitumor responses than current standard of care when used as a second-line treatment for biliary tract cancer (BTC) in a pivotal phase IIb study, bringing it closer to becoming the first therapy to target HER2-expressing BTC.
Additional data from a phase II trial of S1P modulator icanbelimod (CBP-307) reinforced earlier positive results in ulcerative colitis (UC), potentially putting Connect Biopharma Holdings Ltd. in a better negotiating position as it seeks a partner to take the program forward, while in-house activities remain focused on an early 2024 regulatory filing for atopic dermatitis candidate CBP-201.
The coming months represent a crucial phase in the development of Selection Inc., a U.S.-German firm that is tackling a target in autoimmune disease that has evaded the best efforts of many other drug developers.
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