Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s second attempt to score an expanded U.S. FDA approval of its farnesoid X receptor agonist, obeticholic acid, in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) went the way of the first, with the agency issuing another complete response letter (CRL), prompting the company to drop all NASH-related investment and cut a third of its workforce.
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. is set to introduce the first gene transfer therapy for ambulatory patients diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), after the U.S. FDA granted accelerated approval to SRP-9001 (delandistrogene moxeparvovec). Branded Elevidys, the therapy marks Sarepta’s fourth approved treatment for DMD and the first to offer patients a one-time treatment option.
Empress Therapeutics Inc., a Flagship Pioneering firm, has come out of stealth with $50 million in initial funding, a new chief scientific officer and an ambitious plan to file multiple INDs for novel small-molecule compounds over the next two years.
If Eli Lilly and Co. had been hoping its migraine drug, Emgality (galcanezumab), would emerge with unequivocal superiority against Pfizer Inc.’s Nurtec ODT (rimegepant orally disintegrating tablet), giving the once-monthly injectable biologic an advantage in the highly competitive CGRP space, the pharma firm likely was disappointed. Findings from the phase IV Challenge-MIG study did not meet the primary endpoint, which called for Emgality’s statistical superiority over Nurtec ODT on the percentage of patients achieving a 50% or greater reduction in monthly migraine days.
Promising early data continue to roll out for Intellia Therapeutics Inc.’s hereditary angioedema (HAE) candidate, NTLA-2002, with one of the earliest treated patients in the phase I study remaining attack-free for more than a year. But it was the systemic CRISPR candidate’s potential as a one-time treatment that generated the most discussion on the company’s call as investors tried to assess its potential advantage in a crowded HAE market.
Six months after getting accelerated approval from the U.S. FDA without any input from an advisory committee, Eisai Co. Inc. and Biogen Inc.’s Alzheimer’s disease (AD) therapy, Leqembi (lecanemab) will make an appearance June 9 before the Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee (PCNSDAC), set to discuss the supplemental BLA seeking to convert use of the amyloid beta-targeting antibody to traditional approval.
Additional data from a phase II trial of S1P modulator icanbelimod (CBP-307) reinforced earlier positive results in ulcerative colitis (UC), potentially putting Connect Biopharma Holdings Ltd. in a better negotiating position as it seeks a partner to take the program forward, while in-house activities remain focused on an early 2024 regulatory filing for atopic dermatitis candidate CBP-201.
Impressive data continue to roll out for Day One Biopharmaceuticals Inc.’s tovorafenib in pediatric low-grade glioma, with results from 69 evaluable patients with relapsed or progressive disease showing a 67% overall response rate, as measured by Response Assessment for Neuro-Oncology High-Grade Glioma, in the phase II Firefly-1 trial.
Additional data from a phase II trial of S1P modulator icanbelimod (CBP-307) reinforced earlier positive results in ulcerative colitis (UC), potentially putting Connect Biopharma Holdings Ltd. in a better negotiating position as it seeks a partner to take the program forward, while in-house activities remain focused on an early 2024 regulatory filing for atopic dermatitis candidate CBP-201.
In its bid to become, as Chairman and CEO David Hallal said, the “world’s most indispensable cell and gene therapy technology company,” Elevatebio LLC disclosed a $401 million series D round with support from new and existing investors. At the same time, the company’s Life Edit Therapeutics Inc. affiliate inked a potential billion-dollar collaboration focused on gene editing therapies.
