The $10 million series A round raised by Platelet Biogenesis Inc. (PBI) should move its bone marrow-mimicking system to the clinic within three years, chief business officer Sven Karlsson told BioWorld.
As the focus increases on treating cancer in a tissue-agnostic way based on molecular profile, the Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Plus (CGP+) platform "has put us in a pretty good spot," Caris Life Sciences Inc. chief scientific officer David Spetzler told BioWorld.
CHICAGO – In what ASCO expert John Heymach described as a "watershed moment" for people with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), phase III findings from a trial testing the newer ALK inhibitor Alecensa (alectinib, Roche Holding AG) against standard-of-care Xalkori (crizotinib, Pfizer Inc.) showed that the former stopped tumor growth for a median of 15 months longer and caused fewer side effects.
CHICAGO – Reactions were somewhat muted as the lid came off Roche Holding AG's data from the Aphinity trial, the phase III experiment in 4,805 women with HER2-positive breast cancer, showing that to add a second HER2-targeted medicine, Perjeta (pertuzumab), on top of standard-of-care Herceptin (trastuzumab) after surgery may help, but the benefit was not especially powerful. Jefferies analyst Jeffrey Holford called the results "at the bottom of expectations" and said in a research report that Aphinity hit the target, "but only just."
CHICAGO – From a newfangled approach deploying chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to an "old-fashioned" way of tackling mesothelioma, ASCO experts highlighted efforts across a spectrum of would-be cancer therapies.
CHICAGO – Merck KGaA deepened its relationship with F-star Biotechnology Ltd., begun in 2010, by way of a new pact to develop and commercialize five bispecific immuno-oncology antibodies in an arrangement that could be worth about €1 billion (US$1.12 billion) if the pharma giant likes what it sees in a data package yet to come.
CHICAGO – For men with prostate cancer (PC), the already good news regarding Zytiga (abiraterone, Johnson & Johnson) that came out of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting may get even better, and soon.
CHICAGO – Detailed results from the phase III OLYMPIAD trial testing Astrazeneca plc's poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, Lynparza (olaparib), in BRCA-related metastatic breast cancer rang the plenary session bell and won accolades from ASCO president Daniel Hayes. "This is really a major step forward for us," he said, noting that immunotherapy, survivorship and precision medicine bubbled up as major themes in this year's abstracts.
CHICAGO – New research has given the nod for cancer doctors to cut in half the term of chemotherapy for those with lymph node-positive (stage III) tumors, thus sharply reducing the toll taken on patients in the forms of nerve damage, diarrhea and fatigue.
