In another multibillion-dollar bid to further strengthen its oncology pipeline, Merck & Co. Inc. is set to acquire privately held Velosbio Inc. for $2.75 billion in cash. Velosbio is developing cancer therapies targeting receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1. The company’s follow-on programs include next-generation antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific immune-engagers targeting ROR1, which it has been developing for nearly two years. Read More
Shares of Bluebird Bio Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) sank 16.6%, or $9.72, to close at $48.83 as Wall Street reacted to news that the U.S. regulatory filing for Lentiglobin in sickle cell disease (SCD) will be delayed. Previously expected in the second half of next year, the filing won’t happen until late 2022. Read More
New updates from a dynamic late-phase systemic lupus erythematosus pipeline shared at this week's American College of Rheumatology annual meeting and beyond showed a robust field of potential new treatments nearing the finish line. Read More
LONDON – The Danish government has ordered a mass cull of 15 million mink following evidence the animals are harboring a variant of SARS-CoV-2 with mutations in the spike protein through which the virus infects human cells. Read More
Investigators at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have identified physiological factors that are not diseases in the narrow sense, but that nevertheless have large effects on microbiome composition. Read More
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit narrowed the landscape for filing Hatch-Waxman infringement suits against U.S.-based companies, as it answered yet another question raised by the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods, which dramatically changed venue parameters in 2017 for all patent infringement cases. Read More
The latest global regulatory news, changes and updates affecting biopharma, including: Price not so NICE for routine use of Opdivo in melanoma; MHRA updates EAMS guidance; HHS plans retrospective regulatory review; USPTO sees spike in AI-related patent applications. Read More
New hires and promotions in the biopharma industry, including: Agenus, Arcutis, Biodelivery Sciences, Calcimedica, Plus, Tacalyx, Vectivbio, Xphyto. Read More
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Abbvie, Actinium, Acurx, Agenus, Arch, Aveo, Boehringer, Cellectar, Cytomx, Eusa, Genmab, Madrigal, Neurorx, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Radnor, Rhythm, Rubius, Synlogic. Read More
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Avidea, Cellarity, Crescita, Cymabay, Egenesis, Gilead Metriopharm, Neoleukin, Oncoceutics, Ose, Proteonic, Qualigen, Rexahn, Saniona, Wuxi Apptec, Y-mabs. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Amnio Technology, Asieris, Astrazeneca, Bluebird, Genmab, Janssen, Vertex. Read More
