Hutchmed Ltd. plans to file a second NDA in China for sovleplenib, a novel spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor, based on positive phase II/III findings in warm antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia.
Stoke Therapeutics Inc.’s speeded-up timeline for zorevunersen, the antisense oligonucleotide in development with Biogen Inc. as a first-in-class potential disease-modifying treatment for Dravet syndrome, put the rare, severe form of lifelong epilepsy in the spotlight. The news involved completion of enrollment and a phase III data readout from the Emperor study, as officials said signups of 150 patients are expected in the second quarter of the year, which puts the study on track for data in mid-2027.
Ollin Biosciences Inc. is gearing up for global phase III trials this year after disclosing favorable top-line results from its randomized, head-to-head phase Ib Jade study comparing OLN-324, a next-generation VEGF/Ang2 bispecific antibody, to Vabysmo (faricimab, Roche AG), which takes aim at the same targets. The drugs were tested in more than 160 patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) or wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Hutchmed Ltd. plans to file a second NDA in China for sovleplenib, a novel spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor, based on positive phase II/III findings in warm antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia.
Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.’s oral tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, zasocitinib (TAK-279), met the co-primary endpoints and all ranked secondary endpoints in two pivotal phase III studies in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.
There are two significant messages for companies developing and profiting from obesity drugs in a meta-analysis of clinical trials examining the extent of weight regain after treatment stops. First, people taking obesity medication regain weight four times faster on average than those who lose weight through behavioral diet and exercise programs; and second, poor tolerability leads to poor adherence.
Having nailed down alignment with the U.S. FDA in December on a phase III trial that will start in the middle of this year, Immuneering Corp. updated the overall survival and safety data from an ongoing phase IIa trial testing atebimetinib (IMM-1-104) in combination with modified gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel in first-line pancreatic cancer patients (n=34), with more than 13 months median follow-up time.
As widely expected, GSK plc and Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported positive findings from two pivotal trials testing bepirovirsen in chronic hepatitis B, showing the antisense oligonucleotide therapy achieved a statistically and clinically meaningful functional cure rate, indicating a potential transition in CHB treatment beyond the current viral suppression-focused standard of care.
Monte Rosa Therapeutics Inc. followed up December’s positive prostate cancer data with strong interim findings from a phase I study with MRT-8102, a NEK7-directed molecular glue degrader in the works for inflammatory conditions driven by the NLRP3 inflammasome, IL-1, and IL-6.
Eye disease specialist Oculis SA is laying plans to branch out into multiple sclerosis (MS) after the phase II trials of its acute optic neuritis (AON) drug, privosegtor, showed it reduced levels of neurofilament release, a key biomarker of neuronal damage and neurodegeneration.