Despite missing a phase II study’s primary endpoint in moderate to severe asthma, Sanofi SA sees a way forward to a phase III program in the crowded disease space. Preliminary results showed the annualized exacerbation rate endpoint wasn’t met at the highest dosage of amlitelimab. Those numbers, at week 48, showed nominal significance at the medium dose.
Compared to other forms of prevention, a unique issue for pandemic preparedness is that it is forever unclear what pathogen, exactly, the world needs to be prepared for. There are an estimated 300,000 viruses that infect mammals; add in birds, and the estimate grows to more than half a million. Some of those viruses are much greater threats than others.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on April 8 cleared Barythrax injection (GC-1109) as the world’s first recombinant anthrax vaccine. The product was codeveloped by GC Biopharma Corp. and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
As it prepares to advance its lead RNA editing candidate, AIR-001, into a phase I/II trial for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, Airna Corp. Inc. closed an oversubscribed $155 million series B financing less than a year after completing its series A round. The company, based in Cambridge, Mass., with research operations in Tübingen, Germany, focuses not only on repairing harmful genetic variants found in rare genetic disorders, but also on introducing beneficial variants that improve health in common conditions.
GRI Bio Inc.’s oral version of tazarotene is showing phase IIa promise in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The peek at interim safety with the compound, a RAR-βɣ dual agonist designed to inhibit the activity of human type 1 invariant natural killer T cells, consisted of a preplanned analysis of two-week results in the biomarker study. GRI-0621 at 4.5 mg once daily proved safe and well-tolerated in the first 12 patients.
It was a mixed day for Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., which disclosed separately on March 28 both the termination of a $336 million licensing deal with CS Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and upbeat plans to unveil three new oncology assets at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research in April.
China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved the country’s first injectable teprotumumab biosimilar from Innovent Biologics Inc. under the brand name of Sycume (teprotumumab N-01) to treat thyroid eye disease on March 14. The NMPA on March 15 accepted Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.’s NDA of deunoxavir marboxil (ADC-189) tablets, a product originally developed by Jiaxing Andicon Biotech Co. Ltd. to treat influenza A and B.
Artificial intelligence (AI) drug developer Insilico Medicine raised $110 million in a series E round led by an Asian private equity fund, Value Partners Group, that will see Insilico advance its pipeline and AI platform developments.
Latest findings on Healios K.K.’s stem cell therapy to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), coined Multistem (invimestrocel; HLCM-051), found the regenerative medicine effective in reducing the number of patient days on ventilator treatment, as well as mortality benefits.
Vivace Therapeutics Inc. closed a $35 million series D round led by RA Capital Management, an existing investor, and including other backers already on board: Canaan Partners and Cenova Capital. Proceeds will support the continued development of what the company describes as its first-in-class and best-in-class transcriptional enhanced associate domain autopalmitoylation (TEAD) inhibitor, VT-3989, with an initial focus on mesothelioma.
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