Avixgen Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Dx&Vx Co. Ltd., inked a $360 million license agreement with an unidentified U.S.-based biotechnology company, granting the latter rights to its advanced cell penetrating (ACP) peptide drug delivery platform.
CSL Ltd.’s stock tumbled 16.88% on the news that it plans to cut 3,000 jobs and to hive off its Seqirus vaccine unit in a cost-cutting measure to save more than $500 million per year over the next three years.
It looks like Biogen Inc.’s Nrf2 activator, Skyclarys (omaveloxolone), will maintain its status as the sole therapy approved for treating patients with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), at least for now. The U.S. FDA asked for another “adequate and well-controlled study” in the complete response letter (CRL) issued to PTC Therapeutics Inc. for 15-lipoxygenase inhibitor vatiquinone. The agency said “substantial evidence of efficacy was not demonstrated.”
Rates of adverse events (AEs) gave pause to some on Wall Street, and shares of Viking Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) fell 42%, or $17.73, to close Aug. 19 at $24.36 after the firm reported 13-week data from the phase II trial with the oral tablet form of VK-2735, the company's dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors.
Adding another name to an impressive roster of partners assembled over the past few years, Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc. inked a neurology-focused deal with Merck KGaA aimed at discovering small-molecule RNA-targeted drugs that could be worth more than $2 billion.
Neuroone Medical Technologies Corp. expanded into treatment of chronic pain with a new U.S. FDA clearance for use of its Onerf system to treat trigeminal nerve pain. The system uses radiofrequency ablation to disrupt pain signals from the nerve to the brain.
Several cardiology societies in the U.S. have updated their guidelines for management of hypertension, which for the first time includes and endorsement of renal denervation (RDN). Two companies are poised to benefit from the news, including Medtronic plc with its Symplicity Spyral device and Recor Medical Inc., and its Paradise RDN system.
A U.S. appeals court schooled the FDA as it handed Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. a “technical knockout” of sorts in yet another regulatory bout with the agency – this one over the FDA’s refusal to grant the company’s request for a hearing after it had received a complete response letter (CRL) for a jet lag supplemental indication for Hetlioz (tasimelteon).
Adding another name to an impressive roster of partners assembled over the past few years, Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc. inked a neurology-focused deal with Merck KGaA aimed at discovering small-molecule RNA-targeted drugs that could be worth more than $2 billion.
Superluminal Medicines Inc. and Eli Lilly and Co. are collaborating in a deal to develop cardiometabolic disease and obesity therapies by aiming at undisclosed G protein-coupled receptor targets. The deal could bring Superluminal as much as $1.3 billion, including up-front and near-term investments, an equity investment, development and commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties on net sales.