At the 30th Annual Congress of the European Society for Gene and Cell Therapy in Brussels this week, researchers presented both preclinical and clinical strategies for applying gene therapy to a functional HIV cure. At a Wednesday session on Infectious Diseases & Vaccines, Alessio Nahmad, of Tabby Therapeutics Ltd., described using B cells edited to express broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) 3BNC117 to deliver high titers of antibodies in mice.
The Congress of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) held in Madrid from Oct. 20 to 24, 2023, could well add the letter W to its acronym after the four sessions on gynecological cancer that could represent a milestone in the lives of all women who suffer from cervical, ovarian, or endometrial cancer.
An analysis of real-world data pulled from Truveta’s electronic health records of 30 U.S. health care systems found that patients treated for pulmonary embolism (PE) using Boston Scientific Corp.’s Ekos endovascular system had lower rates of adverse events, particularly intracerebral hemorrhage, than those treated with Inari Medical Inc.’s Flowtriever system.
Anteris Technologies Ltd. presented multiple sessions at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2023 annual meeting in San Francisco this week on its novel Duravr biomimetic heart valve, a balloon-expandable, single-piece transcatheter aortic valve designed to closely replicate the shape and performance of a human aortic valve. The device was used for the first time earlier this year in a valve-in-valve replacement procedure and began its early feasibility study, both of which were reviewed at the cardiology meeting.
Opna Bio AG recently provided findings from preclinical studies of novel dual E1A binding protein P300 (EP300) and CREB binding protein (CBP) inhibitors under investigation as potential anticancer agents.
Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1 (MALT1) is a key regulator of immune signaling that supports proliferation and promotes metastasis while maintaining the tumor microenvironment under immunosuppression. Researchers from Exscientia plc and Evotec SE reported on the characterization of EXS-73565.
Glutaminyl-peptide cyclotransferase-like protein (QPCTL) is a modulator of CD47-SIRPα binding and can be targeted to achieve antitumor responses through myeloid checkpoint blockade. At the recent ESMO meeting in Madrid, researchers from Insilico Medicine Inc. reported the preclinical characterization of ISM-8207, a QPCTL inhibitor with activity against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
Novartis AG’s radioligand therapy, Pluvicto, a bestseller for the company that has been restructuring itself, continues to show strong growth in the third quarter of 2023, according to its most recent financial results. Sales were up 217% from the same quarter in 2022 at $256 million. Analysts are predicting blockbuster sales. Adding to the momentum were new data from the phase III PSMAfore study of Pluvicto (lutetium [177Lu] vipivotide tetraxetan), in second-line cancer, hitting its primary endpoint of radiographic progression-free survival in treating prostate-specific membrane antigen-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after treatment with androgen receptor pathway inhibitor therapy.
Immutep Ltd.’s lead candidate, eftilagimod (IMP-321, efti), a lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) fusion protein and major histocompatibility complex class II agonist, delivered an overall survival benefit of 35.5 months in the TACTI-002 trial that combined efti with Merck & Co. Inc.’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) as first-line treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at two years follow-up.