Targovax AS, of Oslo, Norway, reported immune activation data from the first four patients in its phase I trial testing ONCOS-102, which uses oncolytic viruses as a neoantigen therapeutic cancer vaccine, followed by the checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) Keytruda (pembrolizumab, Merck & Co. Inc.) in patients with advanced melanoma whose disease has progressed after prior CPI treatment. Read More

Bluefield Innovations, a collaboration between Deerfield Management and the Johns Hopkins University to catalyze early stage therapeutic development, disclosed the acceptance and funding of its first project. The target, the enzyme RNA polymerase I, or Pol I, is implicated in many forms of cancer. Read More

Themis Bioscience GmbH, of Vienna, said it closed a series C financing totaling €10 million (US$12.1 million) led by Global Health Investment Fund (GHIF), with participation from current investors, including aws Gruenderfonds, Omnes Capital, Ventech and Wellington Partners Life Sciences. Glenn Rockman, partner at GHIF, will join Themis' supervisory board. Read More

SHANGHAI – Xinogen (Hong Kong) Pharma Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Beijing Shenogen Pharmaceuticals Group, has negotiated a deal with Angiochem Inc., of Montreal, to develop and sell ANG-1005, a paclitaxel-peptide drug conjugate for the treatment of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis from breast cancer. The deal gives Xinogen rights for greater China. Read More

While the best thing to do with cancer cells is to kill them, the next best thing is to prevent them from growing. Chemotherapies often arrest their growth, forcing tumor cells into senescence. Read More

HONG KONG – A consortium of Chinese investors will acquire a 90 percent stake in innovative oncology treatment developer Group NMS Co. Ltd., of Milan, Italy. The total value of the deal, including equity injection and debt restructuring, is around €300 million (US$361.25 million). Read More

LONDON – Iteos Therapeutics SA is moving to plot a route forward for its lead program, EOS-200271, after Pfizer Inc. cut short a phase I study in glioblastoma and handed back rights to the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO-1) inhibitor. Read More

DUBLIN – Enterome SA raised €32 million (US$38.6 million) in a series D financing round and secured access to another €40 million through a loan facility with the European Investment Bank (EIB), which gives it more than enough firepower to complete proof-of-concept trials of its lead drug candidates in Crohn's disease and in cancer. Read More

Stoke Therapeutics Inc., a new company developing antisense oligonucleotide therapies for severe genetic diseases, raised a $40 million series A financing from Apple Tree Partners, its sole investor. Read More

With $45 million in series A money, Neurogastrx Inc. has enough to pay for proof-of-concept work with NG-101, a peripherally restricted dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist for gastroparesis, an indication that involves delayed emptying of the stomach – and one that's proved tricky for drug developers. Read More

Glass particles in single dose 1.5-g vials of ampicillin and sulbactam for injection prompted a voluntary recall of one lot of the Auromedics Pharma LLC product, which has a December 2018 expiry date. Read More