Mythic Therapeutics Inc. officially launched with an oversubscribed series B round that garnered $103 million to design smarter, safer antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) by way of a technology originated by the company and dubbed Fatecontrol. Co-founder and CEO Alex Nichols said that, after about 40 years’ worth of development – and despite fairly recent wins – ADCs have been hampered by “toxicity and poor therapeutic index [that] have stopped them from reaching what we would consider to be their full potential.” Read More
PERTH, Australia – It’s been a year that Mesoblast Ltd. might like to forget. The company’s stock dropped 17% on the news that Novartis AG will terminate its licensing agreement with Mesoblast for remestemcel-L. The decision puts an end to an exclusive global licensing deal Mesoblast inked with Novartis in November 2020 for the development, manufacture and commercialization of the mesenchymal stromal cell product, with an initial focus on acute respiratory distress syndrome, including that associated with COVID-19. Read More
DUBLIN – Fans of “His Dark Materials” and the “Book of Dust,” Philip Pullman’s series of fantasy novels set in Oxford, U.K. and more remote corners of the earth, are familiar with alethiometers. In the hands of a highly select number of characters, these complex, compass-like devices can interrogate a mysterious substance called “dust” – an elementary particle associated with consciousness – and provide trusted answers to the most crucial questions. Read More
Beigene Ltd.’s listing on the Shanghai STAR Market netted ¥22 million ($3.4 billion) as the company became making it the first biotech firm to be listed on Nasdaq, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the Shanghai STAR Market. But Shanghai shares, initially priced at ¥192.6 each, fizzled quickly, plunging over 16.4% by market close to ¥160.98. Read More
With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) imposing stricter regulatory requirements on listing companies, more Chinese companies are likely to decide to list on stock exchanges closer to home. Read More
Vaccine specialists Sanofi SA and Glaxosmithkline plc have been behind the curve throughout the pandemic, with upstarts such as Moderna Inc. and Biontech SE stealing the show with their ground-breaking mRNA technology. While their rivals were beginning to launch the first wave of vaccines early last year, Sanofi and GSK had to reformulate theirs after it failed to produce a strong enough immune response in older people. New results show that the shot, SP-0253, could play a role as a booster but there will be another delay after the companies struggled to recruit enough participants in a crucial phase III trial. Read More
New and updated preclinical and clinical data presented by biopharma firms at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting, including: 2seventy, Actinium, Agios, Allogene, Antegene, Apellis, Aptose, Ascentage, Atar, Bantam, Bioinvent, Daiichi, Harpoon, Iaso, Innocare, Innovent, Janssen, Karyopharm, Keros, Kymera, Lantern, Legend, Magenta, Mereo, Mustang, Nektar, Neximmune, Nextcure, Nkarta. Read More
Biopharmas raising money in public or private financings, including: Aramis, Exicure, Genenta, Global Blood, Legend, Pulmatrix, Tetra Bio-Pharma, Tetra Pharm. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Abbvie, Alnylam, Alterity, Beigene, Chinook, Hemogenyx, J&J, Kenox, Merck, Moderna, Pfizer, Rockwell, Sparro, TG, Tonix. Read More
