Just a day after the world's first approval of Merck & Co. Inc.'s oral antiviral for COVID-19 positioned it to offer a new way to keep Britons at high risk of severe disease out of the hospital, Pfizer Inc. is stopping a phase II/III trial of its oral antiviral, Paxlovid, early for "overwhelming efficacy" in a similar group. Interim results showed that combining the drug, also known as PF-07321332, with ritonavir reduced the risk of hospitalization or death for adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 but at high risk of severe disease by 89% vs. placebo. Read More
Shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:DCPH) plunged $27.18, or 75.5%, to close at $8.82 on top-line results from the phase III study called Intrigue with Qinlock (ripretinib) in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) previously treated with kinase inhibitor Gleevec (imatinib, Novartis AG). Read More
Calithera Biosciences Inc.’s stock took a severe beating Nov. 5 as shares closed 54.5% downward due to the company’s phase II stumble of telaglenastat in treating non-small-cell lung cancer. It was the therapy’s second clinical failure in the past 12 months. Read More
LONDON – Researchers have pinpointed a little-studied gene as responsible for doubling the risk of respiratory failure in COVID-19 and shown exactly how it exerts its effect. The gene, leucine zipper transcription factor like 1, is activated by a single base pair change on chromosome 3 that occurs in 60% of people of South Asian ancestry and 15% of people of European ancestry.Read More
DUBLIN – As its name suggests, Glycoera AG aims to kickstart a new era in protein glycoengineering, and it has closed a CHF45 million (US$49 million) series A round to further its ambition of developing biologic drugs with defined glycosylation profiles that are an intrinsic aspect of their mechanisms. Read More
PERTH, Australia – The basis around all investment is a narrative – a story – and the Australian biopharmaceutical industry has come together to develop a new narrative that shows it can generate long-term economic growth and social capital as the country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More
Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals Inc. raised HK$2.03 billion (US$260.17 million) in its Hong Kong Stock Exchange debut. Shares closed at HK$12.98 (US$1.67) on Nov. 5 after trading as high as HK$13.56 earlier.
Biopharmas raising money in public or private financings, including: Blue Water Vaccines, Cardiol, Evaxion, Intelligent Medicine Acquisition, IO Biotech, Mainz Biomed, Nervgen, Tetra. Vaxxinity, Viracta. Read More
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Ares, Omeros, Oncopeptides, Resverlogix, Reven Holdings, Spirovant Sciences, Tranquis. Read More
