Avrobio Inc. said Feb. 8 that the first person dosed with AVR-RD-01, an investigational ex vivo lentiviral gene therapy from its upgraded manufacturing platform, Plato, experienced a complete clearance of the toxic substrate lyso-Gb3 in a kidney biopsy.
CEO Mitchell Steiner said Veru Inc. at first downplayed the prospects of oncology candidate VERU-111 in COVID-19 treatment but now, with positive phase II data in hand, the company has a moral obligation to push onward to late-stage research.
LONDON – South Africa has decided against using the 1 million doses of Astrazeneca plc’s COVID-19 vaccine already in the country to start the rollout of its national vaccination program, in favor of opening a phase IIIb study of Johnson & Johnson’s single shot product. “Over the next few days, we expect to announce a plan to expedite vaccination using [J&J’s] investigational vaccine in health care professionals in South Africa,” said Glenda Gray, CEO of the South African Medical Research Council and chair of the country’s research committee on COVID-19.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: AC Immune, Avrobio, Cassava, Covaxx, Cue, Dong-A, Eiger, Erytech, Freeline, Jasper, Magenta, Sinovac, Uniqure, Veru.
LONDON – A follow-up study of participants in the phase II/III U.K. trial of Astrazeneca plc’s COVID-19 vaccine has shown it remains effective against the new B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2.
In the wake of Study 045’s failure with Translarna (ataluren) in nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy, PTC Therapeutics Inc. is “trying to thread the needle between the notion of getting Study 041 completed in the third quarter of 2022 vs. getting accelerated approval now,” CEO Stuart Peltz said.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Achilles, Astrazeneca, Covaxx, GSK, I-Mab, PTC, Sanofi, Spark, Spero.
Mckesson Corp. has brought together several oncology organizations, life sciences companies, and patient advocacy groups to increase understanding of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and leverage targeted therapies to improve outcomes. The Molecularly Informed Lung Cancer Treatment in a Community Cancer Network: A Pragmatic Consortium (MYLUNG) study will observe and analyze 12,000 community-based, metastatic NSCLC patients to learn more about barriers to molecular testing for targeted therapies, how those therapies are being used, and to expand opportunities for participation in clinical trials.
Probably no one was surprised by the FDA’s recent nod for the combination of Alameda, Calif.-based Exelixis Inc.’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor, Cabometyx (cabozantinib), which targets MET, AXL and VEGF, and PD-1 drug Opdivo (nivolumab) from Bristol Myers Squibb Co. as a first-line treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), but investors may feel less confident about the odds for the pairing in a competitive space.
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