Immuno-oncology company Imugene Ltd.’s allogeneic, off-the-shelf CD19 CAR T, azercabtagene zapreleucel (azer-cel), has resulted in seven complete responses and three partial responses in a phase Ib trial in relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients, according to an interim analysis. The responses to date show a 75% overall response rate.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s dual phase III victories in narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) with oral orexin receptor 2 (OX2R)-selective agonist oveporexton (also known as TAK-861) had Wall Street mulling what the outcome might mean for others trying the mechanism of action, and questions linger about side effects on eyesight.
China’s National Medical Products Administration approved Ascentage Pharma Group Corp. Ltd.’s Bcl-2 selective inhibitor lisaftoclax (APG-2575) for treating adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma who previously received at least one systemic therapy including Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Roche AG subsidiary Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Singapore’s Gero Pte. Ltd. plan to tackle age-related diseases by collaborating to identify drug targets through Gero’s AI-driven human data-first platform.
Shanghai Circode Biomed Co. Ltd. is set to begin clinical trials of HM-2002, a circular RNA (circRNA)-based drug for ischemic heart disease, having gained IND clearance in China Jan. 10 and the U.S. on May 30, Circode CEO Chenxiang Tang recently told BioWorld.
China has proved to be a fertile ground for innovation as evidenced by some big deals in the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) space, and the number of candidates entering clinical trials in China or being advanced in the U.S. by Chinese companies.
Under a new licensing deal announced July 8, JCR Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. granted Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. rights to its adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids for use in up to five of Alexion’s genomic medicines programs.
The U.S. Commerce Department isn't expected to complete its Section 232 investigation to build a national security case for imposing tariffs on biopharmaceuticals until the end of the month, but that didn’t stop President Donald Trump from once again teasing a “very, very high” tariff for medicines and their ingredients.
Veritas In Silico Inc. (VIS) entered a joint research agreement with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co. Inc. to use VIS’s mRNA structural motif analyzing platform technology, called Ibvis, to develop antisense oligonucleotide drug candidates.
In yet another fail for the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) field, Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s pizuglanstat (TAS-205) did not meet the primary endpoint in a phase III trial. The phase III Reach-DMD trial, a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind and open-label, extension study of pizuglanstat in patients with DMD showed no significant difference in the mean change from baseline to 52 weeks in the primary endpoint of time to rise from the floor in the ambulatory cohort of the study.