Investors looking for midteen percentage weight loss findings in Zealand Pharma A/S’s phase II study of once-weekly amylin analogue petrelintide were clearly disappointed by the actual 10.7% mean body weight reduction, as shares (Copenhagen:ZEAL) fell 36% March 6. But from the company’s standpoint, the combination of efficacy and safety data from the Zupreme-1 study bode well for a phase III trial expected to start later this year.
Targeting the interaction between the C-terminal domain of the GluA2 subunit of AMPAR and brefeldin-resistant Arf-GEF 2 (BRAG2), a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the small GTPase Arf6, presents a potential therapeutic approach for acute ischemic stroke.
China’s National Medical Products Administration has accepted for review Jiuyuan Genetic Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s drug application for Jikeqin, a biosimilar product to Novo Nordisk A/S’s Wegovy (semaglutide) for obesity.
Ascendis Pharma A/S’ Yuviwel (navepegritide) gained U.S. FDA accelerated approval Feb. 27 for children 2 and older with the rare genetic bone growth disorder achondroplasia, also known as dwarfism, winning the company a rare pediatric disease priority review voucher
China’s National Medical Products Administration has accepted for review Jiuyuan Genetic Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s drug application for Jikeqin, a biosimilar product to Novo Nordisk A/S’s Wegovy (semaglutide) for obesity.
Coming off a U.S. FDA approval of the first GLP-1 in pill format, Novo Nordisk A/S leaned further into oral drug delivery efforts, partnering with Vivtex Corp. to develop next-generation oral formulations of peptide and protein therapeutics in a potential $2.1 billion deal that marks the highest-profile news for Vivtex since the firm spun out of MIT in 2018.
Ascletis Pharma Inc. raised HK$843.53 million (US107.93 million) in a placement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to advance its lead program, ASC-30, a small-molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist that can be dosed once monthly subcutaneously and once daily orally for treating obesity.
Shares in Novo Nordisk A/S took another battering after the company announced its next-generation obesity drug Cagrisema failed to show noninferiority to Eli Lilly and Co. Inc.’s Zepbound in an open-label comparator study.
Animate Biosciences Inc.’s lead therapeutic peptide MBb32 produced a significant reduction in cardiac scar tissue and subsequent recovery of heart function in a mouse model of severe myocardial injury.
In a deal worth up to $1.8 billion for oral macrocyclic peptide developer Unnatural Products Inc., Novartis AG has signed a research collaboration and licensing agreement for an undisclosed program.