Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Davi Farmaceutica, Formosa, Immpact, Lyell Immunopharma.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Biofrontera, Bristol Myers, Essa, Novo Nordisk, Supernus, UCB, Vaccinex.
A year out from Leqembi’s approval for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), ongoing research coupled with artificial intelligence is advancing both radiopharmaceuticals and small-molecule drugs for AD diagnostics and treatment, speakers at the 2024 KoNECT-MOHW-MFDS conference said.
Gene editing strategies, from epigenetic engineering to cell reprogramming and genetic vaccines, are accelerating the development of new therapies that awaken the immune system to treat cancer, as presented last month in Rome at the 31st Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT). Some of these advances are taking advantage of the conditions of the tumor microenvironment, where cancer cells coexist with immune cells, microorganisms and blood vessels.
Shares of Essa Pharma Inc. tanked Nov. 1 after the company said it is terminating all trials of masofaniten, its N-terminal domain androgen receptor inhibitor and sole clinical-stage program, following a disappointing readout from a phase II study in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The stock (NASDAQ:EPIX) hit a 52-week low, closing at $1.40, down $3.80, or 73%.
Through September 2024, biopharma firms secured $720.56 million in nonprofit deals, up in value through July and also marking a 21% rise from the $593.23 million in the first three quarters of 2023, though still falling short of 2019-2022 levels. Grants saw an even sharper surge, jumping 131% year-over-year from $1.66 billion to $3.84 billion in the same period, falling short only of 2020 in value.
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