Five Prime Therapeutics Inc. said it's licensing a family of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) to Seattle Genetics Inc. for inclusion in new early stage cancer-killing antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates, all directed to a single target. The deal holds $5 million up front for Five Prime, plus up to $525 million in milestone payments for the first two candidates. South San Francisco-based Five Prime's shares (NASDAQ:FPRX) rose about 18% on the deal, which interim CEO William Ringo said allows the firm "to realize value from our preclinical pipeline while prioritizing our clinical investments based on upcoming data readouts." Read More
DUBLIN – Neotx Therapeutics Ltd. raised $45 million in a series C round to continue clinical development of an immuno-oncology agent that already has a long clinical history behind it. Its lead molecule, naptumomab estafenatox, is a fusion protein comprising an antibody fragment that recognizes the oncofetal antigen 5T4 and a bacterial “super-antigen” comprising a modified version of the Staphylococcal enterotoxin A. Read More
A lot of development dollars are shed when the FDA withdraws approval or requests that a drug be withdrawn from the market because new potential risks have come to light. And it’s not just the brand company that feels the loss. Read More
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder. But not just. And it may not start that way.
There is increasing evidence that a-synuclein, the protein whose aggregates eventually destroy midbrain dopaminergic neurons in PD (and that are the cause of other diseases collectively known as the synucleinopathies), first aggregates “in enteric neurons, the neurons that control gastrointestinal function,” Collin Challis told BioWorld. Read More
What with the lawsuits, declining prescriptions and approval hurdles that seem to be the U.S. answer to a nationwide opioid epidemic, drug companies have to think long and hard before spending the resources to develop yet another opioid drug. And patients are paying the price. Read More
HYDERABAD, India – India could play a key role in driving down the exorbitant cost of emerging cell and gene therapies, with a combination of comparatively cheap labor and efficient manufacturing, international experts said during the annual BioAsia conference. Read More
It’s been a rapid year of change for Coimmune Inc., which was incorporated only 12 months ago and now has FDA approval of an IND clearing the way for a phase IIb trial using CMN-001 to treat advanced metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Read More
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: ATCG, Delmar, Immutep, Lidds, Matinas, Molecular Templates, Palatin, Reneuron, Restorbio, Takeda, Terns, Zelira. Read More
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Alvogen, Assertio, Aveo, Caribou, Cellectis, Enzo, Jangobio, Microcures, Nimble, Orgenesis, Promab, Restorbio, Roche, Servier, Vivus. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Adamis, Coimmune, Eton, Genentech, Merck, Retrotope, Seattle Genetics. Read More
