LONDON – Computational biology specialist Precisionlife Ltd. has used UK Biobank data to find sepsis risk genes that are present specifically in patients who suffer severe COVID-19 infections and shown that 13 of those genes are known druggable targets. Read More
With new a FDA approval for a years-old type 2 diabetes drug, Astrazeneca plc's Farxiga (dapagliflozin) has become the first sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor to be approved to reduce the risk of cardiovascular (CV) death and hospitalization for heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, a measure of how much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each contraction. Read More
DUBLIN – After 18 months in stealth mode, Ventus Therapeutics Inc. has emerged with $60 million in series A funding and big ambitions to bring insights from structural biology to bear on two key aspects of innate immunity, inflammasome activation and cGAS-Sting signaling. Read More
Rebiotix Inc. said RBX-2660, its standardized, non-antibiotic, microbiome-based therapy designed to reduce Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infection recurrences, notched positive preliminary results on the primary efficacy endpoint of its ongoing pivotal phase III trial. Read More
DUBLIN – Bavarian Nordic A/S, Europe’s largest independent vaccine developer, is placing a bet on virus-like particle (VLP) technology as a potentially useful contribution to the desperate global effort to push back against SARS-CoV-2. Read More
Novartis AG won accelerated FDA clearance for Tabrecta (capmatinib, formerly INC-280), an oral MET inhibitor, for adult patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have a mutation that leads to MET exon 14 skipping (METex14) as detected by a companion diagnostic, also given the green light. Read More
Stem cells haven’t exactly panned out as hoped when it comes to approved therapeutics. There are only a couple that have received a nod from the FDA in very specific indications. But the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could push stem cells back into the limelight and more firmly establish them as therapeutically relevant. Read More
PERTH, Australia – Melbourne-headquartered CSL Behring Australia, a subsidiary of CSL Ltd., will begin developing an anti-SARS-CoV-2 plasma product to treat people with serious complications of COVID-19 in Australia. Read More
HONG KONG – After inking a recent deal with China’s Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co. Ltd., South Korea’s Crystalgenomics Inc. is celebrating its 20th anniversary by seeking more partners to further develop its anti-PD-1 inhibitor pipeline. Read More
Even as the world grapples with COVID-19, researchers and public health officials are trying to apply its lessons to future outbreaks. In our series “The next pandemic,” BioWorld explores the strategies and technologies that could improve the fight against future outbreaks, from robust surveillance to rapid vaccines. Read More
New hires and promotions in the biopharma industry, including: Anchiano, Biosig, Centogene, Immunocore, Janssen, Lodo, Mimedx, Respirerx, Schrodinger. Read More
Biopharmas raising money in public or private financings, including: Aptose, Algernon, Delcath, Kura, Mind Medicine, Nascent, Oncology Venture, TG, Trillium. Read More
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Algernon, Alnylam, Amgen, Axcella, Eisai, Ferring, Galecto, Humanigen, Jounce, Lilly, Lineage Cell, Merck and Co., Mesoblast, Noxopharm, Nucana, Oncosec, Rebiotix, Rigel, Scholar Rock, Spero, Teva. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: AB, Antabio, Astrazeneca, BMS, Cabaletta, Immunicum, Interna, Kiadis, Laurent, Medivir, Pulmotect, Zia. Read More
