GPCR drug discovery and development specialist Confo Therapeutics NV has closed a €60 million (US$65.2 million) series B round that will fund a significant expansion of the inhouse portfolio while it continues to turn the handle on its technology platform to generate more compounds for partnering.
Increased life expectancy also comes with age-related diseases. But what causes one to age? Although there is no single answer, scientists at Duke-National University of Singapore have shown in mice that interleukin-11 (IL-11) promoted aging. Blocking it improved health and lifespan.
Actinium Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received FDA clearance of an IND application to study Iomab-ACT for targeted conditioning prior to a bone marrow transplant (BMT) in patients with sickle cell disease.
Alkira Bio, a new spinout from Australia’s Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health has emerged from stealth mode thanks to seed funding from Curie.bio. Although the amount of funding is not disclosed, Curie.bio typically invests $5 million to $10 million in a founder company and then co-pilots the drug discovery program, deploying drug development experts to its portfolio companies to help navigate decision making as part of the deal, Florey researcher turned Alkira Bio CEO Daniel Scott told BioWorld.
Even as U.S. lawmakers continue to push back against the rising price of prescription drugs and patients with life-threatening diseases clamor for access to new treatments, the FDA is considering a step that could increase the cost and lengthen the development time of therapies targeting non-small-cell lung cancer and perhaps other solid tumors.
A new collaboration with Dren Bio Inc. means Novartis Pharma AG has negotiated two of the biggest deals of 2024, with its parent company Novartis AG signing a third. Privately held Dren is getting $150 million up front and the chance to ultimately bring in $2.85 billion. The $150 million up-front payment includes a $25 million equity investment.
The July 25 meeting of the U.S. FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) could impact the future development of immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as Astrazeneca plc’s Imfinzi, to treat patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) both before and after surgery. Although much of the discussion will focus on an sBLA for Imfinzi (durvalumab), the committee will be asked to vote on whether the FDA should require that new trial design proposals for perioperative regimens for resectable NSCLC include adequate within-trial assessment of the contribution of the treatment phase to efficacy results.
Increased life expectancy also comes with age-related diseases. But what causes one to age? Although there is no single answer, scientists at Duke-National University of Singapore (NUS) have shown in mice that interleukin-11 (IL-11) promoted aging. Blocking it improved health and lifespan.
After reaching a height in 2021, seed and series A rounds have fallen in recent years, and 2024 is no exception, although amounts raised are tracking slightly ahead of last year. On July 23, the numbers were given a boost when two new companies – namely Dover, Del.-based Brenig Therapeutics Inc. and Boston-based Third Arc Bio Inc. – raised $65 million and $165 million, respectively, in series A financings. A third new company, Abiologics Inc., also received $50 million in initial funding.
The 2024 meeting of the International AIDS Society (IAS), which is being held in Munich this week, began with the announcement of another curative bone marrow transplant. The new case brings the total number of patients cured of HIV via a bone marrow transplant up to 7 since “Berlin patient” Timothy Ray Brown became the first such person in 2007.
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