Note to U.S. policymakers and academics trying to bring down prescription drug prices: Biopharma is not a monolithic market, so simplistic or one-size-fits-all solutions could break the parts that are working well. Read More
Aldeyra Therapeutics Inc. CEO Todd Brady told BioWorld that the missed phase IIb primary endpoint with aldehyde trapper ADX-102 in allergic conjunctivitis (AC) was “retrofitted for another class of drugs [i.e., antihistamines], which is inactive after five to 10 minutes. We would have been viewed as having three eyes if we had picked something else as the main goal,” he said, adding that the outlook is likely “to change after the end-of-the phase II meeting” with the FDA. Read More
LONDON – Medicxi has launched a $300 million fund to invest in companies with phase II assets that need $100 million to move projects through phase III. That will help fill a clear gap in Europe, where it is practically impossible for growth-stage companies to get that sort of backing from local investors. Read More
Interim data from Epizyme Inc.’s ongoing phase II trial of EZH2 inhibitor tazemetostat boosted company shares (NASDAQ:EPZM) Wednesday as investors embraced news that 92 percent of patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma and EZH2-activating mutations treated with the experimental therapy saw their tumors shrink. People with the same mutation and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) also benefited, though at a lower rate than seen in an earlier preview of the data. Both cancers are forms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Read More
By treating mice with the messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding a bispecific antibody, rather than with the antibody itself, researchers from the German University of Mainz and Biontech AG have eliminated tumors in mice. In a direct comparison, the mRNA worked as well as the protein antibody did, and needed to be administered less often. Read More
HONG KONG – CSL Ltd. has bought a majority stake in China’s Wuhan Zhong Yuan Ruide Biological Products Co. Ltd. in a $352 million deal that should make the Australian biotech company a market leader. Read More
Orum Therapeutics, of Daejeon, South Korea, completed an $8 million series A financing with Intervest, KB Investment/Solidus Investment and LB Investment to advance its cell-penetrating antibody technology for the development of cancer therapeutics. Read More
Oxis International Inc., of Los Angeles, and Altor Bioscience Corp., of Miramar, Fla., agreed to collaborate exclusively in the development of a 161533 trispecific killer engager (Trike) fusion protein for cancer therapies. The Trike technology, developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center, was shown in nonclinical models to direct immune cells to kill cancer cells while diminishing drug-related toxicity. Read More
Celltrion Inc., of Incheon, South Korea, said new data presented at the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma and the European League Against Rheumatism congress 2017 demonstrate that CD20-targeting antibody CT-P10 is comparable to reference Rituxan (rituximab, Roche Holding AG/Biogen Inc.) in terms of efficacy and safety in both oncology and autoimmune disease indications. Read More
