Evelo Biosciences Inc.’s late-stage efforts with EDP-1815 are forging ahead despite unfavorable data in atopic dermatitis (AD), and talks so far with the U.S. FDA have proven encouraging, the company said. Cambridge, Mass.-based Evelo made public findings from the first three cohorts of the phase II trial with EDP-1815 in AD, where the compound fell short of the primary endpoint: proportion of patients who achieve an outcome of at least a 50% improvement from baseline in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score compared to placebo at week 16. Evelo blamed an unusually high placebo response rate.
Sciwind Biosciences Co. Ltd. started dosing in a phase III clinical trial in China of its ecnoglutide (XW-003) candidate in adults with type 2 diabetes, targeting patients who have not responded adequately to either metformin or changes in lifestyle.
It is a “landmark moment” in the long-awaited upgrade of the management of clinical research in Europe, but the industry has given a lukewarm welcome to a mandate to submit all clinical trial applications via the EMA’s clinical trials information system, as of Jan. 31.
Alpha Biopharma Ltd. submitted an NDA in China for zorifertinib, a next-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) to treat advanced EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer with central nervous system metastases. Zorifertinib is the first EGFR-TKI to be tested in a clinical study for this patient population, according to the company.
Vera Therapeutics Inc.’s latest results from the phase IIb Origin trial with atacicept in patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) provided cause for optimism with regard to the phase III experiment targeted for the first half of this year – which should yield 36-week data in the first half of 2025 – and the company is budgeting to make the later-stage effort happen.
Equilibre Biopharmaceuticals Corp. has positive top-line data from the phase II study of its lead asset, EQU-001, an anti-inflammatory adjunctive therapy for treating focal seizures for adults with epilepsy.
Caribou Biosciences Inc.’s disclosure last December that it has chosen the target for CB-020, an induced pluripotent stem cell-derived allogeneic CAR-NK cell therapy for solid tumors, added impetus to the growing interest in receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1), where a number of parties are advancing programs.
Ocuphire Pharma Inc. is marching ahead despite falling short of the primary endpoint in top-line data from the Zeta-1 phase II study testing oral APX-3330 in diabetic retinopathy (DR). The trial did not achieve its goal with regard to the percentage of patients with a ≥2-step improvement in Diabetic Retinopathy Severity Score at week 24 in the study eye. Ocuphire plans to schedule an end-of-phase II meeting with the U.S. FDA to review the results.
Low enrollment in a phase III trial and a missed primary endpoint sent Aridis Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s shares tumbling by 35% on Jan. 26, although the company’s AR-301 (tosatoxumab) showed superior efficacy over the control group in Staphylococcus aureus ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) patients.
The burgeoning psychedelic therapeutics market experienced a boost Jan. 25 as Small Pharma Inc. announced its synthetic, intravenous formulation of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), SPL-026, led to a statistically significantly, rapid reduction in depression symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder in a phase IIa trial, thus meeting its primary endpoint. DMT is a powerful hallucinogenic tryptamine substance which works as a 5-HT receptor agonist. It is found naturally in various plants, and is a schedule I controlled substance in the U.S. Although lesser known than other psychedelics such as magic mushrooms and LSD, it produces short-lived but intense auditory and visual hallucinogenic effects.
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