Caladrius Biosciences Inc.'s worldwide, three-pronged cell-therapy technology deal through a subsidiary with Tokyo-based Hitachi Chemical Co. Ltd. not only brings money aboard but also could help snag a partner in Japan for the firm's CD34 ischemic-repair bid, communications director Eric Powers told BioWorld Today.
After early approval last week by the FDA of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s multiple myeloma (MM) therapy Evomela (Captisol-enabled [CE] melphalan), investor eyes turned toward other assets, including the next candidate for market clearance: Eoquin (apaziquone) for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Vericel Corp. CEO Nick Colangelo told BioWorld Today the strong top-line phase IIb results with ixmyelocel-T in patients with advanced heart failure due to ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) add momentum to the turnaround begun in 2014 when the firm – then known as Aastrom Biosciences Inc. – bought Sanofi SA's cell therapy and regenerative medicine business, including marketed products for skin replacement and joint repair.
Immunomet Therapeutics Inc.’s chief scientific officer, Sanghee Yoo, told BioWorld Today that $5.2 million in series A money will take the company to the start of phase I trials with oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) inhibitor IM156 and fund operations into 2017, though the firm has “not provided specific details” on an immuno-oncology program, also in the pipeline, he said.
Regarding the stopped phase III glioblastoma trial with Rintega (rindopepimut), Celldex Therapeutics Inc. CEO Anthony Marucci said the firm is "well positioned to weather this temporary setback," and during the weeks ahead will ransack data from ACT IV for clues to why control arm patients did just as well as those on the drug.
The start of Galapagos NV’s phase IIa trial with its cystic fibrosis (CF) therapy, GLPG1832, triggered new speculation regarding what’s ahead for the apparently solid franchise in the space held by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., a company that Morningstar analyst Stefan Quenneville called “a rare gem,” with CF drugs on the market and in the pipeline that are still not given their due on Wall Street.
Having taken "a little bit of time to dig out" from last September's setback with VS-6063 (defactinib), Verastem Inc. CEO Robert Forrester told BioWorld Today the firm "made a point of talking with the outside world" about the potential of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitors.
Capricor Therapeutics Inc. designed its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) trial to fit “exactly what the FDA has now mandated they want” in the troubled space, CEO Linda Marbán told BioWorld Today, and the firm’s CAP-1002 represents “a novel take and a practical approach” to the disease.
