With $45 million in series A money, Neurogastrx Inc. has enough to pay for proof-of-concept work with NG-101, a peripherally restricted dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist for gastroparesis, an indication that involves delayed emptying of the stomach – and one that's proved tricky for drug developers.
Arvinas LLC's PROTAC (PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras) platform is "therapeutic area-agnostic, so the world is our oyster," head of biology Ian Taylor told BioWorld.
If Amgen Inc. and Novartis AG win approval of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitor Aimovig (erenumab) – the PDUFA date is May 17 – the compound's price tag could provide guidance for others with CGRP monoclonal antibodies in their migraine pipelines, such as Alder Biopharmaceutical Inc., with eptinezumab due to yield phase III data this quarter from the PROMISE 2 (Prevention Of Migraine via Intravenous eptinezumab Safety and Efficacy 2) trial in chronic migraine.
Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell data from Bluebird Bio Inc. (and partner Celgene Corp.) stole the show recently at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting, but the firm's results in sickle cell disease (SCD) may get more attention as time goes on. Not much is heard about the indication overall, CEO Nick Leschly acknowledged.
For phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) drug development, "the black eye came very much from the Gilead experience with Zydelig last year," acknowledged Verastem Inc. CEO Robert Forrester, but that bruise was healed by the "totality, consistency and magnitude" of phase III data offered by his firm with duvelisib in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in Atlanta.
Sitting “right in the center” of intensified computing power and new experimental methods lets Relay Therapeutics Inc. pursue its method of “bouncing between the virtual and physical world constantly,” CEO Sanjiv Patel told BioWorld, and could mean a powerful change in how drugs are developed, in cancer and beyond.
With $62 million in series B cash, Pionyr Immunotherapeutics Inc. hopes to "get initial human readouts in a couple of programs – at least one, maybe a second," CEO Steven James told BioWorld. The San Francisco-based company is advancing its Myeloid Tuning technology, which rebalances the tumor microenvironment, an effort that could work especially well with checkpoint inhibitors.
ATLANTA – Abbvie Inc.'s vice president of oncology, Gary Gordon, told BioWorld that his firm aims to "restate the standard of care" in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and the firm moved another step closer with full results from the phase III Murano trial, detailed in a late-breaking session at the American Society of Hematology meeting.
ATLANTA – About what he called "incredible" data with BB-2121 in multiple myeloma (MM), Bluebird Bio Inc.'s chief medical officer, David Davidson, told BioWorld that his firm is "actually in a privileged position to have positive results across all of our clinical programs" at the scientific meeting, with data in severe sickle cell disease (SCD) and beta-thalassemia. "But clearly the myeloma results are really getting everyone excited," he said.
ATLANTA – Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Kite Pharma unit lifted the lid for investors on eagerly awaited long-term follow-up data from the pivotal Zuma-1 study with approved chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) therapy Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) in patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).
