Chinese firm Hutchmed Ltd. has out licensed its targeted colorectal cancer drug fruquintinib to Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. as it eyes growth opportunities in the U.S., Europe and Japan in a deal totaling up to $1.13 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Tokyo, Japan-based Takeda will gain an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize the drug in all indications and territories outside of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

While immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized oncology, still only 20-30% of patients respond to PD-1/PD-L1 antibody monotherapy. This can be due to a failure of T cells to recognize “cold” tumors (low T-cell infiltrates).

The efficacy of allogeneic cell therapeutics for regenerative or oncology indications can be compromised by the emergence of antibodies against those cells, as observed in clinical trials. To overcome this limitation, scientists from the University of California and collaborators have developed a gene engineering approach providing antibody protection for cell therapeutics. The new approach to protecting cells from antibody-mediated cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) relies on the overexpression of the IgG receptor CD64.

While fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) are common strategies for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, the potential use of blood-based biomarkers could provide an alternative method to increase compliance in population-based screening programs for early detection of CRC. Researchers from EDP Biotech Corp. aimed to identify novel blood-based biomarker candidates for use in CRC screening.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a lethal cancer affecting the bile ducts and still has limited therapeutic options.