Scientists at the University of California at San Francisco have gained new insights into how driver mutations, separately and together, affect tumors' evasion of immunosurveillance. Read More
Precision Therapeutics Inc., of Minneapolis, said CEO and director Carl Schwartz made an additional investment of $1 million, effective Jan. 8. Of that investment, $950,000 was a loan under an amended and restated promissory note, which now covers advances of $1.3 million, including a previous loan Schwartz made in November. He also purchased 78,125 shares of the company's common stock in a private investment for $50,000, representing a price of 64 cents per share. Read More
Autifony Therapeutics Ltd., of Stevenage, U.K., said it achieved the first milestone under its option agreement with Ingelheim, Germany-based Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH that has an exclusive option to purchase Autifony's Kv3.1/3.2 positive modulator platform. The lead molecule, AUT-00206, is covered in the agreement, which is in a phase Ib trial in patients with schizophrenia. Read More
Investors awaiting word from Immunogen Inc. in the first half of this year regarding the phase III trial called Forward-1 in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer continue to debate the odds of success with antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) mirvetuximab soravtansine. Previously known as IMGN-853, mirvetuximab soravtansine targets folate receptor alpha (FRa). Read More
The engineered protein 3K3A-APC, a variant of activated protein C, is in clinical trials for stroke and has demonstrated neuroprotective effects in animal models of other neurological diseases as well. Now, researchers from the University of Southern California have found that 3K3A-APC was effective at preventing behavioral deficits and neuronal damage in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Read More
Shares of Tyme Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:TYME), buoyed earlier this week on anticipation of new data for its lead program, SM-88, fell 35.4 percent to $2.41 on Friday as results of an open-label phase II study in heavily pretreated pancreatic cancer drew mixed reactions. Criticism over the company's headline claim of "improved survival" and questions about the drug's efficacy dominated commentary on Twitter, while analysts following the company seemed to see a brighter picture in a bleak indication, third-line therapy. Read More
Two weeks after Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Co.'s historic $74 billion takeover bid, Celgene Corp. went on its own dealmaking spree, adding pacts with Kyn Therapeutics Inc. and Obsidian Therapeutics Inc. to its immuno-oncology (I-O) fold. Celgene, of Summit, N.J., gained an exclusive option to aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) antagonist and kynurenine-degrading enzyme, or Kynase, programs from Kyn in return for $80 million up front, an equity stake and undisclosed milestone payments and sales royalties. The deal with Obsidian – financials entirely undisclosed – entails a multiyear collaboration that entitles Celgene to exclusive options to license cell therapies that use Obsidian's Destabilizing Domain (DD) technology to modulate IL-12 and CD40L activity. Read More
Biopharma licensing deals signed in 2018 climbed to 1,364 and have a projected value of $119.54 billion, a four-year high for an industry still riding the immuno-oncology wave. Read More
In a major setback for the soft tissue sarcoma (STS) space – a complex disease with a dearth of treatment options – Eli Lilly and Co. said the confirmatory phase III ANNOUNCE study of Lartruvo (olaratumab) in combination with doxorubicin failed to meet the primary endpoints of overall survival (OS) in the full study population in advanced or metastatic STS or in the leiomyosarcoma (LMS) subpopulation. Read More
Company watchers remained upbeat as analysts during a conference call Friday pressed Immunomedics Inc. for details about the complete response letter (CRL) regarding the BLA related to antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) sacituzumab govitecan for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Read More
