Netris Pharma SA has delivered positive phase Ib data showing its first-in-class netrin-1 inhibitor NP-137 alleviates resistance to chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer. This could represent an important advance in treating these tumors, which are notoriously resistant to chemotherapy.

And the positive news continues to flow for Revolution Medicines Inc. On the heels of a successful phase III trial for RAS inhibitor daraxonrasib in previously treated patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) – not to mention the firm pricing the largest follow-on offering in biopharma history – Revolution presented updated phase I/II data at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting detailing impressive findings in first-line PDAC patients.

Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd reported early clinical signals across its next-generation immuno-oncology pipeline, including response rates of up to 71% in metastatic colorectal cancer and 45.5% in hepatocellular carcinoma, at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in San Diego.

Biogen Inc. has consolidated full global rights to felzartamab through an $850 million deal with TJ Biopharma Co. Ltd. April 20, closing the chapter on a complex 10-year license saga.

When a tumor migrates and colonizes another tissue or organ, it can be identified as a metastasis, but its origin is not always clear. Now, a study based on machine learning has identified DNA-methylation patterns that reveal the type of tissue a cancer comes from when the primary tumor cannot be found. This technique could help guide more specific treatments for patients with cancers of unknown primary, who today often receive broad, nontargeted chemotherapy.

Xuanzhu Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. reported positive data from a local phase III study of dirozalkib (Xuan Fei Ning), an ALK inhibitor approved in China to treat patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Following its 2022 debut on Shanghai’s STAR Market, Mabwell (Shanghai) Bioscience Co. Ltd. is aiming to raise up to HK$1.44 billion (US$184.78 million) in an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to advance its Nectin4-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) 9MW-2821 (bulumtatug fuvedotin).

The already-thriving CAR T space took another big stride forward as Eli Lilly and Co. disclosed its plan to acquire Boston-based Kelonia Therapeutics Inc. for as much as $7 billion in cash, including an up-front payment of $3.25 billion, with the rest coming if clinical, regulatory and commercial goals are reached.

Delta-Fly Pharma Inc. is pressing ahead with discussions with the FDA for its lead acute myeloid leukemia (AML) candidate, radgocitabine (DFP-10917), despite a phase III miss on its primary endpoint, instead leaning on earlier-stage efficacy signals and emerging combination data to support a potential path toward conditional approval.