The COVID-19 vaccine from Curevac AG looks far less protective than mRNA-based rivals, according to phase IIb/III data, but the company suggested it could still be approved in younger age groups or supplied to poorer countries at lower cost.
Glaxosmithkline plc should stick to its plan to split into two companies, one focused on pharma and the other on consumer health, but must ask itself whether CEO Emma Walmsley is the right person to lead the changes, according to activist investor Elliott Management.
Shares in Altimmune Inc. and Angion Biomedica Corp. were sharply down after the companies announced trial disappointments from a nasal COVID-19 vaccine and two investigational therapies. Altimmune was worst hit, with shares (NASDAQ:ALT) dropping 38% to $9.80 June 30 after announcing its nasal COVID-19 vaccine did not produce enough immune response and axing an immunotherapy trial after encountering problems finding enough subjects.
Sanofi SA is to invest around €400 million (US$477 million) annually into a vaccines mRNA Center of Excellence, as the company plays catch-up with upstart biotechs Biontech SE and Moderna Inc. Despite its high-profile Sanofi Pasteur vaccines unit, the French pharma was left behind in the race to develop COVID-19 vaccines after the two biotechs got their mRNA shots through trials and approved by regulators in record-breaking time.
Swiss biotech Polyphor AG is facing an uncertain future after a pivotal phase III study of the company’s balixafortide in HER2-negative breast cancer showed the drug did not improve response rates compared with standard therapy alone.
Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH has begun a three-year collaboration with researchers at Australia’s WEHI, looking into a potentially powerful approach to targeted protein degradation also being studied by its German rival Merck KGaA.
Vida Ventures, the venture capital firm co-founded by CAR T pioneer Arie Belldegrun, has closed an oversubscribed $825 million fund, bringing the total amount of assets under management to more than $1.7 billion.
Glaxosmithkline plc CEO Emma Walmsley has set out further details of the company’s forthcoming split, saying that the firm’s late-stage pipeline could help deliver sales of more than £33 billion by 2031.
Zai Lab Ltd. and Macrogenics Inc. have announced a collaboration and license agreement involving up to four immuno-oncology molecules in a deal potentially worth upward of $1.5 billion. The deal makes sense as both are upcoming companies at around the same stage in development – making progress in oncology with first products recently approved by regulators.
