Ducentis Biotherapeutics Ltd. has been acquired by Arcutis Biotherapeutics Inc. for up to $400 million, representing a landmark moment for seed investor Lifearc Ventures, which aims to kick-start promising biotechs in the U.K. while giving any investment returns to its parent medical charity.
The U.S. FDA’s approval of Revance Therapeutics Inc.’s Daxxify (daxibotulinumtoxinA-lanm) for the temporary improvement of moderate to severe glabellar lines, or frown lines, in adults, positioned the drug to compete with Abbvie Inc.’s blockbuster, Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA), which tallied $678 million in global net revenues for the second quarter of 2022.
The U.S. FDA has become the first global regulator to approve Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH’s spesolimab, the first treatment specifically approved for generalized pustular psoriasis flares in adults, a rare and potentially fatal disease. Branded as Spevigo, it works by inhibiting interleukin-36 and is delivered via intravenous injection. Ingelheim, Germany-based Boehringer Ingelheim is not giving away details about pricing but Carinne Brouillon, a member of the company’s board responsible for human pharma, said Spevigo is “priced similarly to the other biologic therapies used to treat rare dermatologic diseases.”
As the PDUFA date looms for Bristol Myers Squibb Co. with its candidate, deucravacitinib, for psoriasis, others – notably Dice Therapeutics Inc. – strive for new solutions to the skin disease, which has remained problematic for many patients despite approvals of multiple drugs in various classes.
Shares of Pharvaris NV (NASDAQ:PHVS) fell 34% Aug. 22 to close at $12.15 after the company reported the U.S. FDA placed a clinical hold on PHA-121, its oral bradykinin B2-receptor antagonist for hereditary angioedema (HAE), citing a review of nonclinical data. PHA-121, which goes after the same target as well-established injectable HAE drug Firazyr (icatibant, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.), is the active ingredient in Pharvaris’ two lead programs: PHVS-416, a softgel capsule formulation, and PHVS-719, an extended-release tablet formulation.
Genentech Inc. is paying Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. $100 million in up-front and near-term payments for the development and commercialization rights to vixarelimab, a fully human monoclonal antibody. Kiniksa also could receive up to approximately $600 million in certain clinical, regulatory and sales-based milestones, as well as royalties on annual net sales.
Recently published real-world data with Firazyr (icatibant), the selective B2 bradykinin receptor antagonist from Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to treat acute hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks, trained a spotlight on the space, where a handful of players compete. Among the prospects is the early stage but intriguing Star-0215 from Astria Therapeutics Inc., which could be the next advance in the kallikrein-inhibitor class.
Trevi Therapeutics Inc. took its place among several late-stage contenders by scoring a win in prurigo nodularis in the form of positive data from the 360-participant, phase IIb/III Pruritus Relief through Itch-Scratch Modulation, or PRISM, trial with oral Haduvio (nalbuphine extended release).
Paragon Biosciences-backed Castle Creek Biosciences Inc. pulled off an oversubscribed and upsized preferred stock financing of $112.8 million. The money should let the firm tie the bow on a phase III study and roll out top-line results of its lead ex vivo product candidate for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) called D-Fi (dabocemagene autoficel, also known as FCX-007).
The U.S. FDA has rejected Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s drug-device combination to treat the viral skin disease molluscum for a third time, losing more ground to a potential rival from Novan Inc., because of continued manufacturing issues. There are no FDA-approved treatments for molluscum contagiosum, which leads to skin-colored or pink lesions and affects around 6 million people in the U.S. annually.
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