About two months after Astrazeneca plc said its application for sipavibart (AZD-3152) had been accepted by the EMA for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against COVID-19 in immunocompromised people, Invivyd Inc. unveiled positive 180-day exploratory efficacy data from the company’s ongoing Canopy phase III trial with Pemgarda (pemivibart) in the same indication – and made known less happy news from regulators on the other side of the pond.
Headlines in March about Cartesian Therapeutics Inc. reminded investors of the firm’s already-intriguing push with Descartes-08, an autologous anti-BCMA mRNA CAR T therapy, in the works for myasthenia gravis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Excitement generally is mounting around prospects for CAR T therapies in autoimmune disease, where developers aplenty are pursuing early stage opportunities.
The long struggle by Boston-based I2o Therapeutics Inc.’s business unit Intarcia Therapeutics to get long-lasting exenatide for diabetes onto the market ended with a final thumbs-down from the U.S. FDA because of safety concerns. At issue was ITCA-650, a twice-yearly implantable exenatide-device combo meant to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes.
As Bridgebio Pharma Inc. awaits word from the U.S. FDA regarding the small-molecule transthyretin (TTR) stabilizer acoramidis for TTR-mediated amyloidosis cardiomyopathy, the firm closely followed this week’s headline about another spinout with news that the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company has signed a joint research pact with Hitgen Ltd., of Chengdu, China.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. suffered an unsurprising hitch in the form of a complete response letter (CRL) related to linvoseltamab, a bispecific antibody designed to bridge B-cell maturation antigen on multiple myeloma cells containing CD3-expressing T cells, for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.
A week after the U.S. FDA spurned Lykos Therapeutics Inc.’s bid for approval of a therapy in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), shares of Alzamend Neuro Inc. (NASDQ:ALZN) zoomed upward on more news in the indication with a next-generation, cocrystal lithium compound AL-001. Atlanta-based Alzamend’s stock closed Aug. 19 at $5.85, up $3.82, or 188%.
Label comparisons began promptly with the accelerated U.S. FDA clearance of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s oral peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-delta drug, Livdelzi (seladelpar), for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). The space includes Ipsen Pharma SA’s dual PPAR alpha/delta agonist, Iqirvo (elafibranor), licensed from Genfit SA and cleared in June 2024, as well as Ocaliva (obeticholic acid), the first-in-class farnesoid X receptor agonist from Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc., greenlighted for PBC in May 2016.
Wall Street promptly started speculating about the product’s odds in the graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) marketplace shortly after Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Incyte Corp. scored U.S. FDA approval – well ahead of the Aug. 29 PDUFA date – of Niktimvo (axatilimab), an anti-CSF-1R antibody for the treatment of chronic disease after failure of at least two prior lines of systemic therapy in adult and pediatric patients weighing at least 40 kg (88.2 lbs.).
With favorable data from the phase III trial testing izokibep, a small protein therapeutic designed to inhibit IL-17A, in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), Acelyrin Inc. CEO Mina Kim said the firm will “look at all the options and do what’s best for the program.” The phase III trial hit its primary endpoint of Hidradenitis Suppurativa Clinical Response 75 at 12 weeks. At the same time, the Los Angeles-based firm made known a refocused pipeline strategy that prioritizes lonigutamab in thyroid eye disease (TED) and is projected to extend its cash runway.
Aiming to offer an advantage over Dupixent (dupilumab, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.), dermatology-focused Galderma Holding SA won clearance from the U.S. FDA for Nemluvio (nemolizumab) as a prefilled pen providing a subcutaneous injection to treat adults with prurigo nodularis (PN).
