Stoke Therapeutics Inc.’s stock tumbled 32% after the company reported phase I/IIa data of its antisense oligonucleotide, STK-001, in Dravet syndrome, showing it reduced convulsive seizures in children most consistently at the highest dose, with benefits increasing as time progressed.
Taking strides from its start as a Seoul National University laboratory, South Korea’s Cellid Co. Ltd. said July 24 that the MFDS approved an IND for the global phase III trial for its omicron variant-targeting COVID-19 vaccine called AdCLD-CoV19-1 OMI. Approval from the MFDS comes two months after Cellid filed the IND on May 23 for its adenovirus vector platform vaccine “capable of responding quickly to virus mutations,” the company said.
Unexpected cataract cases in top-line data from two of three phase III trials for eye diseases is leading Kodiak Sciences Inc. to quit work with tarcocimab tedromer, an antibody biopolymer conjugate also known as KSI-301.
Artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery specialist Insilico Medicine Inc. is progressing INS018-055, its lead compound to phase II trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease that results in progressive and irreversible decline in lung function.
Vir Biotechnology Inc. said it won’t be discussing further the phase II data from the influenza A prevention study called Peninsula until the company’s second-quarter earnings update Aug. 3, and a closer look at the results has yet to decide the fate of monoclonal antibody VIR-2482, which missed its primary and secondary endpoints.
ArteraAI Inc. released data from a study it said validates the first-ever artificial intelligence (AI)-derived biomarker predicting the benefit of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for stripping prostate cancer of the testosterone it requires to grow.
Endotheia Inc. reported the successful completion of a first-in-human clinical trial of its steerable technology for endoscopic surgery. The single-use device integrates with standard forward-viewing gastroscopes, allowing physicians to replicate the functions of specialized duodenoscopes that are currently used in the treatment of biliary disease.
Argenx SE’s top-line results from the phase II Adhere study with Vyvgart Hytrulo (efgartigimod alfa plus hyaluronidase-qvfc) in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) sparked buzz about other developers in the space with similar mechanisms of action to Vyvgart Hytrulo, such as Immunovant Inc.
Apellis Pharmaceutical Inc.’s shares nosedived by 37% July 17 after the American Society of Retina Specialists wrote to ophthalmologists warning them of the risk of serious intraocular inflammation events in patients following injection of the company’s geographic atrophy drug, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan).
Strong and complete phase III results for Eli Lilly and Co.’s donanemab for treating early Alzheimer's disease (AD) will no doubt inspire more comparisons with recently approved Leqembi (lecanemab). The newly released data for donanemab show it significantly slowed cognitive and functional decline for those with amyloid-positive early symptomatic AD, which lowered the disease-progression risk.