As Pfizer Inc. and Biontech SE start their massive phase II/III safety and efficacy trial evaluating a single nucleoside-modified messenger RNA candidate from their BNT-162-based vaccine program against SARS-CoV-2, smaller, privately held Codagenix Inc. plans a different approach. Read More
The bad cohort 1 news from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. in late April with poziotinib in the phase II Zenith20 study turned itself around in a stock-boosting way as the Henderson, Nev.-based firm unveiled data from cohort 2. Read More
DUBLIN – Versant Ventures is committing $35 million in series A funding to Bright Peak Therapeutics Inc., which is developing a pipeline of engineered cytokines that are produced using a novel chemical synthesis technique rather than the recombinant methods that have underpinned more than four decades of biotechnology development. Read More
HONG KONG – Mumbai, India-headquartered Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. have released statistically significant top-line results from a phase III trial showing that Fabiflu (favipiravir), an antiviral pyrazine RNA polymerase inhibitor, can treat cases of mild to moderate COVID-19 in four days. Read More
LONDON - The combined force of Belgian life sciences has been brought together in the launch of Exevir Bio BV, which arrives on the scene with a €23 million (US$27 million) series A and ready for a phase I study of its novel antiviral therapy in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Read More
LONDON – Enthera Pharmaceuticals Srl has announced the largest international series A to date for an Italian biotech, closing a €28 million (US$32.9 million) round, to take programs in type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) into phase I development. Read More
CYBERSPACE – Data presented at the virtual 2020 Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) and reported in the July 28, 2020, online issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) demonstrated that blood levels of phosphorylated tau-217 (Ptau-217) did as well as cerebrospinal (CSF)- and PET-based biomarkers, and significantly better than other blood-based biomarkers, at discriminating individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) from those with other neurodegenerative disorders. Read More
HONG KONG – Suwon-based Olix Pharmaceuticals Inc. is completing the final preclinical work before starting clinical trials for its as-yet-unnamed COVID-19 drug candidate, developed inside three months using RNA interference (RNAi) technology. Read More
There were no surprises among the latest rankings in JLL’s Life Sciences Outlook report, which tracks geographic shifts in life sciences innovation, operations and facilities investments, and includes an analysis of markets actively investing in their life sciences sectors. Boston, San Francisco and San Diego once again occupied the top three spots as the leading U.S. life science clusters. Read More
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee held the first of its two hearings on the supply chains for a variety of products vital to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While electoral politics were on full display during the hearing, a recurrent theme was the need to bring supply chains back to the Western Hemisphere as a solution to the fraudulent products shipped to the U.S. from Hong Kong and China. Read More
Chinese biotech startup Lynk Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., of Hangzhou, has in-licensed global rights from Kobe University and Riken Research Institute in Japan to develop renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors, which have a novel mechanism of action that can increase chances of developing anti-RAS cancer drugs. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Apogenix, Black Diamond, Chi-Med, Foresee, Hemoshear, Larimar, Momenta, Nabriva, Protara, Realta. Read More
