LONDON – Immuno-oncology specialist Tusk Therapeutics Ltd. is being acquired by Roche Holding AG for €70 million (US$81.3 million) up front, with €585 million to come if the sole product, an anti-CD25 antibody, currently in the late stages of preclinical development, makes it through to approval. Read More
The FDA handed Pfizer Inc. an on-time approval for the oral kinase inhibitor Vizimpro (dacomitinib) to treat individuals with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletion or exon 21 L858R substitution mutations as detected by an FDA-approved companion diagnostic. The nod followed a priority review of the application, which the agency granted earlier this year. Read More
FDA approval for Eli Lilly and Co.'s migraine prevention therapy, Emgality (galcanezumab-gnlm), completes a trio of anticipated 2018 calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) entries into a fiercely competitive field where months of free drug is par for the course. The green light follows an earlier September approval for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s Ajovy (fremanezumab-vfrm) and, in May, for Amgen Inc.'s Aimovig (erenumab-aooe). Read More
KSQ Therapeutics Inc. nailed down $80 million in series C money to push into the clinic oncology drug candidates generated by the company's CRISPRomics discovery engine. With the new cash, KSQ will move its first program into testing within the next 18 months, and plans to advance up to three more cancer bids into IND-enabling studies. The first candidate consists of a modified adoptive T-cell immunotherapy that has shown efficacy in animal models of PD-1 resistance. Read More
PARIS – Bone Therapeutics SA reported results from a phase I/IIa delayed-union fracture study with Allob, its allogeneic cell therapy product. Read More
The highly pathogenic H7N9 avian influenza viruses that emerged in China in 2017 evolved rapidly into different viral subtypes and genotypes, which were largely controlled by mass vaccination of chickens, a Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) study has established. Read More
HONG KONG – Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare gave the nod to Blincyto (blinatumomab) for use in relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), marking the bispecific T-cell engager's entry into the Asian market, following approvals in the U.S., all members of the EU and European Economic Area, Canada and Australia. Read More
Alligator Bioscience AB, of Lund, Sweden, said it will present preclinical safety data for drug candidate ATOR-1017 at the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer lmmunotherapy conference in New York. Monoclonal antibody ATOR-1017 is in development for the treatment of metastasizing cancer. Read More
Chemocentryx Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., said it will not conclude an offering of shares of its common stock as disclosed Wednesday. The company said it believes that culmination of terms representing the best interests of its stockholders is not to be achieved right now. Read More
Scientists from the Spanish Autonomous University of Barcelona have identified a compound that was able to inhibit the aggregation of alpha-synuclein, the main component of Lewy bodies in Parkinson's disease (PD). Read More
