Still in the early days of June and weeks away from the northern hemisphere's summer solstice, the climate for financings is heating up in the U.S. Three biopharmas – Mersana Therapeutics Inc., Aileron Therapeutics Inc. and Dova Pharmaceuticals Inc. – have filed for U.S. IPOs since the start of the month. A fourth, Athenex Inc., filed May 12 and set terms last week. Read More

LONDON – The World Health Organization (WHO) has completely revised the uses of the antibiotics on its essential medicines list with the aim of stemming development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and preserving the effectiveness of "last resort" drugs. Read More

CHICAGO – Loxo Oncology Inc.'s announcement that it will seek tissue-agnostic approval for larotrectinib (LOXO-101) based on data that were presented at this year's ASCO meeting came just weeks after Keytruda (pembrolizumab, Merck & Co. Inc.) was approved for use in MSI-H/dMMR tumors regardless of tumor histology. Read More

CHICAGO – In what ASCO expert John Heymach described as a "watershed moment" for people with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), phase III findings from a trial testing the newer ALK inhibitor Alecensa (alectinib, Roche Holding AG) against standard-of-care Xalkori (crizotinib, Pfizer Inc.) showed that the former stopped tumor growth for a median of 15 months longer and caused fewer side effects. Read More

CHICAGO – Reactions were somewhat muted as the lid came off Roche Holding AG's data from the Aphinity trial, the phase III experiment in 4,805 women with HER2-positive breast cancer, showing that to add a second HER2-targeted medicine, Perjeta (pertuzumab), on top of standard-of-care Herceptin (trastuzumab) after surgery may help, but the benefit was not especially powerful. Jefferies analyst Jeffrey Holford called the results "at the bottom of expectations" and said in a research report that Aphinity hit the target, "but only just." Read More

CHICAGO – From a newfangled approach deploying chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to an "old-fashioned" way of tackling mesothelioma, ASCO experts highlighted efforts across a spectrum of would-be cancer therapies. Read More

While science was at the heart of the patent argument Amgen Inc. made Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, emotion and public policy could determine whether the court lifts a permanent injunction against the U.S. marketing of Sanofi SA and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Praluent (alirocumab). Read More

NEW ORLEANS – As antimicrobial-resistant infections continue to inspire the search for modern cures, microbiologists are also looking to some ancient and unexpected corners of the world for progress. Alligator blood, cockroach brains and even commercial yogurt may harbor bug-beating elements, recent research presented at ASM Microbe 2017 suggests. All explorations were early in their progress. But each offers tantalizing invitations to further research. Read More

ZHUHAI, China – When attending the ChinaBio Partnering Forum, there are a few options for how to spend the time: go to one-on-one meetings, take in a few panels, or dip in and out of a marathon of 15-minute company presentations. Read More

Crispr Therapeutics AG, of Basel, Switzerland, and contract development and manufacturing organization Masthercell SA said they signed a deal to develop and manufacture allogeneic CAR T therapies. Mastercell will be responsible for the development and cGMP manufacturing of CTX-101 for use in clinical studies. CTX-101 is in development by Crispr for the treatment of CD19-positive malignancies. Read More

Sirona Biochem Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, closed a nonbrokered, oversubscribed private placement of convertible notes to raise $587,000. Read More

Chemocentryx Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., reported findings from two studies at the European Renal Association – European Dialysis and Transplant Association meeting in Madrid, Spain, including results from an open-label phase II pilot study testing complement 5a receptor inhibitor avacopan (CCX-168) in IgA nephropathy patients, which showed reduced levels of protein in the urine in six of seven patients receiving the drug, at the end of a 12-week period following treatment. Read More

Immunocellular Therapeutics Ltd., of Los Angeles, presented data from the phase I trial of ICT-121 in patients with recurrent glioblastoma, showing that six of 20 patients are alive, as of the April 2017 cut-off, with survival ranging from 10 months to 24 months. Read More