Flindr Therapeutics BV has raised €20 million (US$21.4 million) in a series A round to advance small-molecule immune modulators aimed at targets it has identified in cancer patients who respond to existing immunotherapies.
Becoming the first type II RAF inhibitor for relapsed or refractory BRAF-altered pediatric low-grade glioma, Day One Biopharmaceuticals Inc.’s Ojemda (tovorafenib, DAY-101) gained U.S. FDA accelerated approval on April 23, a week earlier than its expected PDUFA date, bringing the Brisbane, Calif.-based company a rare pediatric disease priority review voucher.
Researchers have developed and validated a new technique that allows them to measure the lipid compounds in live cancer cells, one by one, according to a study published in the journal Analytical Chemistry. The new method paves the way for analyzing cells in greater detail to better understand infection, immunity and other phenomena, and could lead to the development of new, more targeted treatments.
The existence of two approved therapies, Lumakras (sotorasib, Amgen Inc.) and Karzati (adagrasib, Mirati Therapeutics Inc.), has been a triumphant success against KRAS, a protein that was once considered undruggable.
The process of manufacturing autologous T-cell therapies is technically challenging when compared with other oncology drugs, making the overall cost of developing CAR T therapies significantly higher. A challenging reimbursement environment for drugs listed on China’s National Reimbursement Drug List also means that most patients will have to pay out of pocket to access CAR T therapies. Taken together, complex logistics – production, manufacturing and supply chain – and complicated administration requirements are key bottlenecks that inflate the input costs involved in developing these specialized treatment options.
Shanghai De Novo Pharmatech Co. Ltd. has described antibody-immunostimulatory conjugates consisting of an antibody covalently bound to Toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8) agonists through a linker reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Arbutus Biopharma Corp. has divulged programmed cell death protein 1 (PDCD1; PD-1; CD279)/PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1; CD274) interaction inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, hepatitis B and hepatitis D infections.
Hanmi Holdings Co. Ltd. has identified serine/threonine-protein kinase/endoribonuclease IRE1 (ERN1) inhibitors described as potentially useful for the treatment of cancer.
Ariel Scientific Innovations Ltd. has synthesized microtubule destabilizers (tubulin polymerization inhibitors) reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.