New and positive data for Maia Biotechnology Inc.’s lead candidate for a particularly deadly and advanced lung cancer propelled the stock modestly higher on Feb. 4. The pivotal phase II THIO-101 study of Thio, a telomere-targeting agent sequenced with Regeneron Inc.’s immune checkpoint inhibitor, Libtayo (cemiplimab), as a third-line treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) showed median overall survival of 16.9 months for the 22 NSCLC patients who received at least one dose of Thio in parts A and B.
Major strides for the company on two fronts – psychedelic therapies and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) – came in the form of Dublin-based GH Research plc’s phase IIb data with GH-001, an inhalable mebufotenin (5-MeO-DMT) activator of serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT1A receptors that met not only its primary endpoint but all secondary goals in the TRD experiment. Shares of GH (NASDAQ:GHRS) closed Feb. 3 at $17.99, up $7.39, or 69.7%, on word that the fast-acting, short-duration compound led to a significant reduction from baseline of -15.2 points in Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale total score on the eighth day of treatment compared with +0.3 points in the placebo group (a difference of -15.5 points, p<0.0001).
Alterity Therapeutics Ltd. reported positive top-line phase II results for lead candidate ATH-434 for treating multiple system atrophy, a rare neurological disorder similar to Parkinson's disease.
Shares of Tectonic Therapeutic Inc. (NASDAQ:TECX) closed Jan. 30 at $54.84, up $29.12, or 113%, on what Leerink analyst David Risinger called in his report “the most impressive hemodynamic results we have seen” in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Watertown, Mass.-based Tectonic unveiled positive interim data from the phase Ib acute hemodynamic trial with lead candidate TX-45, a long-acting, Fc-relaxin fusion protein.
In a devastating blow to the company and large B-cell lymphoma patients relapsed or refractory to CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, Cargo Therapeutics Inc. terminated the phase II study of its lead CD22 cell therapy, firicabtagene autoleucel (firi-cel), and is cutting its workforce by 50% and evaluating strategic options, following disappointing data on durability of response and serious safety events, some of which were fatal.
It’s one step backward in order to take two steps forward at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Inc. In a restructuring to help fund the second part of its potentially registration-enabling Denali study, Zentalis has laid off 40% of its workforce. The clinical trial of azenosertib, Zentalis’ lead candidate and a WEE1 kinase inhibitor, is for treating advanced solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. The therapy is designed to make cancer cells self-destruct.
In an indication that has proved difficult for biopharma to conquer, Regulus Therapeutics Inc. disclosed further positive data from its ongoing phase Ib study testing RGLS-8429 in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and laid out its plans to move straight into a phase III trial later this year, with the potential for an accelerated U.S. approval.
With positive results from a phase III study, ITM Isotope Technologies Munich SE said it has reached a landmark. The clinical trial of ITM-11, a synthetic, targeted radiotherapeutic agent for treating inoperable, progressive grade 1 or grade 2 gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, met its primary endpoint of prolonging progression-free survival when compared to the mTOR inhibitor everolimus, a targeted molecular therapy and a standard of care.
Some favorable and some not-so-great results from separate midstage trials testing the anti-dickkopf homolog 1 antibody sirexatamab in combo regimens for two types of gastrointestinal tumors vexed Leap Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTX), shares of which ended Jan. 28 at 66 cents, down $1.60, or 71%.
Positive data for Veru Inc.’s enobosarm lend more weight to the potential progress of the company’s body-mass preservation program in patients taking Wegovy (semaglutide). The side effect of lean mass loss has dogged those taking GLP-1s. The study results didn’t support the company’s stock on the day of the data release as it had the previous four weeks.
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