CYBERSPACE – “We are not very good at predicting drug response in the clinic,” Ayesha Muhammad told the audience at the 2020 annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG), “though it is not for lack of trying.” Nevertheless, adverse drug reactions are among the top 10 causes of in-hospital mortality.
DUBLIN – The biotechnology sector may be more awash with cash now than at any other time in its history. But that does not alter the fundamental dynamic between biotech and big pharma. If anything, their respective roles are becoming better defined, as biotechs learn how to build value into their assets to the point where big pharma is willing to step in and take on the financial risk of scaling a program where it can truly go global.
The opening plenary abstract session at the 2020 annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) began with the definition of a new disease, identified through a new approach, and possibly leading to a new way to think about rheumatic diseases.
DUBLIN – The dateline says it all. Everyone and anyone with an interest in European biotechnology were due to assemble in Munich this week, the German biotech hub which was originally chosen to host Bio-Europe Fall 2020. Given the rising numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the globe in recent months, that was never going to happen.
Under the right circumstances, a single mouse can be as good as a group of eight or 10 animals in predicting whether a tumor will respond to a drug, researchers reported at the 2020 EORTC-NCI-AACR (ENA) Molecular Targets meeting on Saturday. The single-animal approach “allows incorporation of more tumor models within the same resource constraints,” Peter Houghton told reporters at a press conference previewing ENA highlights.
New and updated preclinical and clinical data presented by biopharma firms at the 32nd EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium, including: Aileron, Basilea, Black Diamond, Cyclacel, Elevation Oncology, Essa, Exelixis, Kura, Medicenna, Mirati, Rain, Revolution, Syros.
Mirati Therapeutics Inc.’s update on the phase I/II Krystal trial of the KRAS-G12C-targeting adagrasib (MRTX-849) was arguably the most eagerly awaited news, and certainly the most eagerly awaited KRAS-targeting news, to come out of the 2020 EORTC-NCI-AACR (ENA) Molecular Targets meeting. KRAS is one of the most frequently mutated oncogenes across a wide swath of solid tumors, and has been one of the toughest nuts to crack as far as druggability is concerned.
The Chinatrials roundtable went virtual this year and drew clinical trial experts to discuss state-of-the-art clinical trial design strategies, which are increasingly important in a more competitive clinical landscape.
In July a major initiative of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, designed to combat the rising tide of antimicrobial resistance and accelerate the pace at which new antibiotics are discovered and brought to market, was announced. The $1 billion AMR Action Fund, supported by 23 pharma companies, was created “because there was a clear realization that we have no time to spare to address the lack of innovation in this area,” said Martin Bott, interim general manager of the fund, who described the progress being made with the fund in a fireside chat at this week’s virtual BIO Investor Forum.
At the virtual Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa, panelists talked about the challenges and benefits of developing cell and gene therapies to treat chronic conditions.
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