A phase IIa study of Frequency Therapeutics Inc.’s lead candidate in treating hearing loss showed it fared no better than placebo, but the company said its faith in the candidate is bolstered by the belief the study was hampered by trial design issues and by data from another study.
Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) fell 21.7% to $43.59 on March 23 after its longtime partner, Roche Holding AG, decided to stop dosing the antisense oligonucleotide tominersen in a global phase III manifest Huntington's disease (HD) study. Roche subsidiary Genentech Inc. said the move was based on an independent data monitoring committee's preplanned assessment of the drug's risk-benefit profile.
TORONTO – Hemocath Ltd. is gearing up for a first-in-human trial of a device that addresses two critical metrics for the treatment of heart failure: pulmonary artery and central venous pressure. Hemocath’s pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) is part of a larger heart failure monitoring platform and is intended to assess fluid status in patients with severe or worsening congestive heart failure. The hope is to replace larger, more invasive catheters inserted into a patient’s neck.
As the firm doubles down on a therapy for the rare and terrible lung disease called autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (aPAP), Savara Inc. met with little trouble raising money, disclosing March 15 a public offering that grossed $130 million.
LONDON – Positive interim data from the U.S. trial of Astrazeneca plc’s COVID-19 vaccine have added yet more evidence it is effective in older adults and quelled concerns about serious thrombotic events that led countries in Europe to pause use of the vaccine earlier this month. Overall, the vaccine showed 79% efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, and was 100% effective in preventing serious disease and hospitalization. The effect was comparable across different ethnicities and age groups, with 80% efficacy in participants over 65 years of age. The analysis is based on 141 cases of COVID-19 infection.
Advanced Oncotherapy plc reported new findings demonstrating the potential ability and superiority of its next-generation proton therapy system, LIGHT, to treat resistant cancers. The findings build on research at the Mayo Clinic that highlighted the benefits of combining proton therapy (PT) with targeted small molecule damage repair inhibitors.
Following a missed primary endpoint in its phase III study in treating anti-PD-1-refractory advanced melanoma, Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. is considering stopping the registrational trial of its synthetic Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist or pressing on toward the clinical trial’s second primary endpoint.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Amyndas, Bluesky, Clovis, Eisai, Idera, Incyte, Merck & Co., Sarepta.
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