In a lively discussion at the 40th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, panelists from leading diagnostics companies debated the best way to screen for cancer – and whether diagnostic testing does more harm than good in some circumstances. Kevin Conroy, CEO of Exact Sciences Corp., noted that he expected liquid biopsies to have an “enormous impact on making earlier cancer detection a routine part of medical care” with his company currently developing a blood-based test for colon cancer as well as a multicancer test and one for minimal residual disease.
SCG Cell Therapy Pte. Ltd. has acquired rights to human induced pluripotent stem cell technology from Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)’s Accelerate Technologies Pte. Ltd. to support the development of natural killer (NK) cell therapies for leukemia, liver cancer, gastric cancer and other solid tumors.
Targeting VEGF and DLL4 at the same time in solid tumors is an approach that continues to entice researchers, with such firms as Abbvie Inc., Compass Therapeutics Inc. and Oncxerna Therapeutics Inc. working to come up with oncology solutions.
Salarius Pharmaceuticals Inc. is joining the red-hot protein degradation space with an acquisition of a portfolio of oral small-molecule protein degraders and IP from Deuterx LLC it’s calling "transformative." The lead asset, SP-3164, is a cereblon-binding molecular glue that Salarius plans to move to the clinic in 2023 as a potential treatment for hematological cancers and solid tumors. Salarius paid Deuterx $1.5 million in cash and 1 million shares of restricted stock (NASDAQ:SLRX) up front, worth about $487,900 at market close on Jan. 13.
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