Amidst a slew of end-of-week, positive EMA Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) opinions is Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s Fruzaqla (fruquintinib). The selective inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors-1, -2 and -3 is for adults with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer.
The latest World Health Organization’s (WHO) Pandemic Agreement falls short of protecting all countries in future pandemics, said international patient groups and public health organizations.
The industry in the U.K. is starting to get concerned about the U.S. Biosecure Act and the possible impact on its ability to use Chinese service providers, and the implications for future dealmaking with U.S.-based companies.
Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd. and Celltrion Inc. are making headway in Europe and U.S. with respective follow-on biologic products, with Samsung Bioepis the latest to gain EMA approval for Pyzchiva, a Stelara (ustekinumab, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.) biosimilar, on April 23.
A day after investing $40 million in China’s D3 Bio Inc., London-based venture capital firm Medicxi is investing $25 million to co-found a new U.K.-based company called Petalion Therapeutics Ltd. that will focus on an early stage oncology asset from Australia’s Starpharma Holdings Ltd. to develop novel dendrimer-based treatments.
The U.S. FDA accepted for review Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.’s and Astrazeneca plc’s BLA for datopotamab deruxtecan to treat adults with unresectable or metastatic hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who have received prior systemic therapy for unresectable or metastatic disease.
Medicxi has made its first ever investment in China – and its biggest single commitment to date – putting $40 million into D3 Bio Inc. The investment by the London-based venture capital firm will accelerate development of D3’s lead program D3S-001, a second generation KRAS G12C inhibitor, which is in phase II development in advanced solid tumors.
The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion recommending approval of Pfizer Inc.’s Emblaveo (aztreonam-avibactam), an antibiotic combination that would offer a new option to patients with serious bacterial infections caused by multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria.
Sosei Group Corp. is getting €25 million (US$27.3 million) up front in a global collaboration and option-to-license deal with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH aimed at developing GPR52 agonists, a new target for schizophrenia designed to potentially address positive, negative and cognitive symptoms at the same time.
Foreign investment in China’s biopharma sector is beginning to pick up after the hit of severe pandemic restrictions, and as Western governments look to revive trading relationships following a spate of diplomatic rows.