Missing the primary endpoint in a phase IIb study of aldafermin for treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has caused NGM Biopharmaceuticals Inc. to halt the program’s development while rattling the company’s share value. But the failure didn’t stop there as other NASH therapy developers felt the reverberations. South Francisco-based NGM’s stock (NASDAQ:NGM) took a battering May 24 as shares closed down 40.77% at $16.81 each. Others in the NASH space rocked by NGM’s negative data on the day included San Francisco-based 89bio Inc., which is prepping BIO89-100, a glycopegylated FGF21 analogue for a phase IIb NASH study. 89bio’s stock (NASDAQ:ETNB) plunged 14.24% to close at $19.40 per share. Read More
DUBLIN – Abivax SA has started planning for a pivotal phase III program for its inflammatory bowel disease drug candidate, ABX-464, following a readout of top-line data from a phase IIb induction study in ulcerative colitis, in which the molecule attained the primary endpoint at all three dose levels tested. It demonstrated efficacy on a range of secondary endpoints, too, while its safety profile also appeared to be favorable. Read More
New three-year safety and efficacy data on Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.'s dengue vaccine candidate, TAK-003, showed it to be 62% more effective than placebo in preventing virologically confirmed infections with the virus and 83.6% more effective than placebo in preventing hospitalizations caused by the mosquito-borne viral disease and due to any of the four dengue virus serotypes in patients ages 4 to 16. Read More
With the intense focus on developing COVID-19 diagnostics, sequencing tools, vaccines and treatments, the pandemic is having an outsized impact on the global development of drugs and devices to treat other diseases. Recent data show that more than 1,000 clinical trials worldwide remain disrupted by COVID-19, including 60% of the non-COVID-19 trials being conducted in the U.S., as funding and other resources continue to be directed toward ending the pandemic. Read More
In seeming opposition to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s support of a proposed compulsory World Trade Organization intellectual property (IP) waiver on COVID-19-related medical products, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris signed onto the G20’s May 21 Rome Declaration that commits the member countries to work to defeat the pandemic within the current flexibilities of the TRIPS agreement by promoting voluntary IP licensing agreements, technology and knowledge transfers, and patent pooling on mutually agreed terms. Read More
New and updated preclinical and clinical data presented by biopharma firms at Digestive Disease Week, including: 4D Pharma, Abbvie, Axcella, BMS, Eli Lilly, Ferring, Redhill, Seres, Surrozen. Read More
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Boehringer Ingelheim, Creative Medical Technology, Dicerna, Hepalink, Mindmed, Moderna, Nextage, Novavax, Pulthera, Resverlogix, Samsung, SK Group, Stemedica, Strongbridge, Synairgen, Xeris. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Akeso, Biomarin, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cansino, Kancera, Glenmark, J&J, Merck & Co., Regeneron, Scopus, Verastem. Read More
