The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has determined that the time has come to offer Medicare coverage for blood-based in vitro diagnostics as a screening tool for colorectal cancer (CRC), but there’s one catch: At present, there is no such test approved by the FDA that qualifies under the terms of the coverage memo, making this a null coverage proposition, at least for the time being.
As developers continue their race in the anti-CD47 space, Gilead Sciences Inc. remains high profile with magrolimab, which has reached phase III development for myelodysplastic syndromes. Meanwhile, Alx Oncology Inc., of Burlingame, Calif., is emerging with potentially the first drug targeting the CD47-SIRPa axis to treat solid tumors as well as hematologic malignancies.
News of Vaccinex Inc. signing two multitarget deals with undisclosed "prominent pharmaceutical companies" sent company shares (NASDAQ:VCNX) up 70% to $4.88 on Feb. 19, even as financial terms of the deal went undisclosed. The collaborations will focus on using the company's ActivMAb antibody discovery and novel viral display platform to develop candidates against complex antigens such as G protein-coupled receptors and ion channels, the company said.
HONG KONG – Beijing-based Beigene Ltd. struck its second deal outside China this year, signing an option and license agreement with Boston Immune Technologies & Therapeutics Inc. (BITT) for the latter’s tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2) antagonist antibodies. Beigene will exclusively develop, manufacture and commercialize BITT’s TNFR2 antagonist antibodies in Asia, excepting Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
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