According to an analysis conducted by BioWorld of the fourth-quarter and year-end 2019 financial reports filed by the top 100 public biopharmaceutical companies ranked by market cap, and excluding big pharma companies, the amount that was invested in research and development (R&D) during the year increased 35% compared to the same period in 2018. Read More
South Korea's Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc. has enlisted San Francisco-based AI drug discovery shop Atomwise Inc. to help it identify up to 13 small-molecule inhibitors of Pellino proteins and other targets in an effort to develop new therapies for inflammatory diseases. Atomwise stands to receive an up-front payment of undisclosed value, as well as milestone and royalty payments under terms of the deal. Presuming success, it estimates the partnership's payoff could reach up to $1.08 billion. Read More
DUBLIN – Versant Ventures was one of a handful of investors to profit from Passage Bio Inc.’s recent upsized IPO. The Philadelphia-based gene therapy firm planned to raise $125 million initially but eventually hauled in $216 million by issuing 12 million shares, which it priced at $18 per share on Feb. 27. The IPO price valued Versant’s holding at $89 million. As well as participating in the IPO – the actual amount involved has not been disclosed – it invested $35 million across three private rounds, between September 2018 and August 2019, according to SEC filings. Read More
Despite the growing concerns about the potential for the community spread of COVID-19 in the U.S., the FDA-FTC public workshop on competition in the biologics marketplace went ahead as scheduled March 9, playing to a full house with some audience members sitting in an overflow room. And all the invited speakers and people registered to speak during the open public hearing session showed up. Read More
LONDON – The Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust have joined forces with financial services specialist Mastercard in establishing a $125 million seed fund to accelerate development of drugs to treat COVID -19. The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator aims to play a catalytic role by speeding up evaluation of new and repurposed drugs and biologics to treat the novel coronavirus in the near term, and other viral pathogens in the longer term Read More
With a phase IIb readout coming in the third quarter of 2020, Cambridge, Mass.-based Fulcrum Therapeutics Inc. might be set up for a win in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), a genetic muscle disorder for which there’s no treatment. Read More
HONG KONG – Cadila Healthcare Ltd. (Zydus Cadila) has won approval for its saroglitazar to be used as the treatment of non-cirrhotic nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in India. The green light from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) makes saroglitazar the first drug in the world approved for this indication. Read More
The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and CMS both posted their final rules for electronic health records (EHRs), and analysts with Cowen Washington Research Group said both rules essentially replicate the draft versions. The provisions dealing with data blocking and interoperability are expected to benefit developers of HER systems in the near term, and telehealth should also benefit, albeit over a longer scale of time. Read More
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Acceleron, Albireo, Asana, Gilead, Inmed, Innate, Medivir, Santen, Takeda, Tracon. Read More
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Anabios, Anticancer, Aytu, Century, Correvio, Curadigm, Cytovance, Emergent, GT, Hong Kong Teson, Immunitybio, Innovation, Kuur, Medicinova, Mesoblast, Nkarta, Novavax, Point, Scintomics, Trianni. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Bellerophon, Cadent, Daré, Freeline. Read More
