Astellas Pharma Inc. reported Oct. 14 that its CLDN18.2-targeting monoclonal antibody, zolbetuximab (Vyloy), did not meet the primary endpoint of overall survival in the phase II Gleam trial of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is exiting all work in cell therapies and will seek an external partner to advance the company’s research and clinic-ready cell therapy programs, the company said, noting that it is not currently running any clinical trials using cell therapy technology.

Rakuten Medical Inc. is advancing a pipeline of solid tumor therapeutics built on its Alluminox platform worldwide, having gained conditional early approval of ASP-1929, an Alluminox-derived photoimmunotherapy, in Japan in 2020.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), formerly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder with no known cure. While three therapies have gained U.S. FDA approvals to date, including Rilutek (riluzole), Radicava/Radicava ORS (edaravone) and tofersen (BIIB-067, the lack of a disease-modifying drug has spurred the continual search for novel therapies.

Patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (r/r MM) treated with Carsgen Therapeutics Holdings Ltd.’s CAR T therapy, zevorcabtagene autoleucel (zevor-cel, CT-053), have shown durable responses lasting nearly five years.

Beijing QL Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s once-monthly GLP-1 receptor agonist, zovaglutide (ZT-002), met its primary and secondary endpoints in a phase II obesity trial, and QL Biopharm will now advance the GLP-1 to a pivotal phase III study.

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a supporting tool in biotechnology – it is beginning to define the way drugs are discovered, tested and advanced into the clinic, speakers said during the Bio Hong Kong conference Sept. 10 to 13.

“New explosions in biotechnology are allowing us to interrogate cancers at a very sophisticated level compared to before,” Dennis Slamon told audience members at the Global Bio Conference in Seoul, South Korea Sept. 3.

Argenica Therapeutics Ltd. saw its stock drop 56% following mixed results for its ARG-007 phase II Seancon trial in acute ischemic stroke patients undergoing endovascular revascularization, or thrombectomy.

Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. and Merck & Co. Inc.’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) ifinatamab deruxtecan produced a confirmed 48.2% objective response rate in a phase II study of previously treated patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer.