Pepgen Inc. seems to have gained a leg up on competitors in early data with PGN-EDODM1 in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), and shares of the Boston-based firm (NASDAQ:PEPG) closed Feb. 24 at $2.29, up 92 cents, or about 67%. The company unveiled initial positive data from the 5- and 10-mg/kg dose cohorts in the ongoing Freedom-DM1 phase I study with PGN-EDODM1, which deploys Boston-based Pepgen’s Enhanced Delivery Oligonucleotide technology to deliver a therapeutic oligonucleotide that is designed to restore the normal function of MBNL1, a key RNA splicing protein.
Several Asia biotechs this week – including Innocare Pharma Ltd., Akeso Pharmaceuticals Inc., Sanbio Co. Ltd. and Ascletis Pharma Inc. – unveiled the start of new late-stage clinical trials or interim findings from early stage studies.
In response to the news of reported layoffs at the U.S. FDA over the weekend, Advanced Medical Association president and CEO Scott Whitaker said in press release that these “significant job cuts could have a very negative impact on patient care in this country.”
Radiance Biopharma Inc. bought its way into the ROR1 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) space through a potential $1 billion-plus licensing deal, including a $15 million up-front payment, with CSPC Megalith Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for rights to RB-164 (SYS-6005) in the U.S. and select countries.
The longstanding ambition of developing an inhaled gene therapy for cystic fibrosis has taken a step forward, with the start of a phase I/II trial of a product using a novel pseudotyped viral vector that it is hoped will circumvent problems encountered in previous studies with other vectors.
The phase IIb study results of Supernus Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s SPN-820 in treatment-resistant depression had pulled the company’s stock (NASDAQ:SUPN) down 15.6% on Feb. 19. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of adults failed to show a statistically significant improvement on the primary endpoint of change from baseline on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression rating scale. Shares closed at $33.52 apiece on Feb. 19.
Solid Biosciences Inc. is preparing for a sit-down with the U.S. FDA this year to discuss the firm’s results with the next-generation gene therapy SGT-003 for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
The first clinical data from an FDA-approved trial of a CAR T-cell therapy in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) show the cells cause complete B-cell depletion, leading on to a reset of the immune system that is accompanied by an improvement in symptoms.
Septerna Inc.’s stock plunged as much as 68% throughout the day Feb. 18 on news that the company was stopping a phase I trial of SEP-786 in healthy volunteers following two severe events of elevated unconjugated bilirubin in the highest dose cohort of the multiple ascending-dose portion of the study.
Corbus Pharmaceuticals Inc. has placed its chips on “bets where somebody else is ahead of us,” CEO Yuval Cohen said. “The idea is to have a de-risked asset” that proves better in the clinic. At the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary (ASCO GU) Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, Corbus offered data from the U.S. and U.K. first-in-human dose-escalation study – the Western trial – with Nectin-4-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) CRB-701 (SYS-6002).
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