Lululemon founder Chip Wilson has chipped in $100 million to prime the pump for finding a cure to the rare form of muscular dystrophy that has hampered him for the past 35 years. He’s got more than a monetary stake in the donation. The 67-year-old entrepreneur suffers from facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy type 2 (FSHD) and just launched Solve FSHD to find a cure. Read More
Salubris Biotherapeutics Inc. has raised $32 million in financing from its parent company, Shenzhen Salubris Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., for the development of its cardiovascular candidate. Funds will be used to continue efforts in an ongoing phase Ib trial and to initiate two additional phase Ib studies in 2022, as well as to expand the company’s pipeline. Read More
Tyra Biosciences Inc.’s recent deal with Xcures Inc. drew more attention to the already popular FGFR inhibitor space in oncology, as the pair made known a collaboration on a real-world biomarker study involving patients with FGFR-mutant bladder cancer who are given once-daily, oral Balversa (erdafitinib, Johnson & Johnson), a pan-FGFR blocker approved in April 2019. Read More
Novo Nordisk A/S, best known for its range of diabetes drugs and insulins, has said that growing its rare disease unit will be an important part of its business strategy this decade. Novo Nordisk has actually been operating in rare diseases for 40 years, starting in hemophilia and gradually growing its presence. But the Bagsværd, Denmark-based company has big plans for its rare diseases arm in the next few years, with a pipeline of drugs aimed at the busy hemophilia market and for rare endocrine disorders. Read More
The NMPA’s Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) published a draft document named the Pilot Work Procedure to Speed Up the Review of Innovative Drug NDAs in February 2022. It aims to accelerate the review of new drug applications (NDAs) in China. Read More
Three U.S.-listed China-based biopharmas were among five companies named this week by the U.S. SEC for reportedly failing to submit necessary accounting reports under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA). Read More
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Abbvie, Abivax, Amarin, Cocrystal, Confo, Excellthera, Gan & Lee, Geovax, Incannex, IQ-AI, Moderna, Passage, Pipeline, Redx, Transcenta, Venatorx. Read More
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Abbvie,Caris, Constellation, EPI, Gedeon Richter, GT, Inomagen, Insilico, KBI, Mitocarex, Morphosys, Novan, Oragenics, Orphazyme, Pyramid, Regen, Scisparc, Tiziana. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Allogene, Antengene, Atyr, Immutep, In3bio, Intellia, Pharmazz, Quoin, Samsung Bioepis, Selecta, Servier, TG, Tracon. Read More
