Verve Therapeutics Inc. has packed a lot into the past few weeks. The latest is a four-year research deal with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. to find and develop an in vivo gene editing program for an undisclosed liver disease. Vertex will pick up the tab for program costs as Verve does the preclinical R&D. Verve is getting an up-front $60 million from Vertex, along with a $35 million equity investment. Read More
As neurological disease stocks begin to move in the right direction, and a potential U.S. FDA approval nears for a major depressive disease drug, shares are still down by 11.68% this year. BioWorld’s Neurological Diseases Index is following a similar path as the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI), which hit bottom at the end of May and has begun to climb since then. Still, NBI is down 15.92% this year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 12.41%. Read More
Stem cell therapy company Mesoblast Ltd. said that for patients with chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, treatment with rexlemestrocel-L, its allogeneic product candidate, resulted in greater improvement in a prespecified analysis of left ventricular ejection fraction at 12 months relative to controls in the phase III DREAM-HF trial. Read More
The U.K.’s competition watchdog has found that a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc. and a generics firm jacked up the price of a life-saving epilepsy drug by up to 2,600%, fining them a total of £70 million (US$83.72 million). The Competition and Markets Authority’s decision is part of a long-running dispute against subsidiary Pfizer Ltd. and the generics firm Flynn Pharma Ltd. Read More
The technology behind one of the most high profile COVID-19 vaccine development programs has been re-engineered to correct a design fault and now forms the basis of newco Vicebio Ltd. The London-based company has shown its face for the first time following its founding in 2019 around molecular clamp technology from the University of Queensland, Australia. Read More
Convalife Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. acquired global rights to develop and commercialize a phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) β/δ inhibitor from Karus Therapeutics Ltd. Read More
Continuing its evaluation of cancer drugs already on the U.S. market, the FDA will convene its Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) Sept. 22 and 23 to consider two more approved drugs – Oncopeptides AB’s Pepaxto (melphalan flufenamide) and Secura Bio Inc.’s Copiktra (duvelisib). Read More
Citing “the current political conditions,” Russian Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko laid out ways for Russia to strengthen its international role in the health care sector, including the development of innovative radiopharmaceuticals. Read More
Two study coordinators at the Miami-based Tellus Clinical Research Inc. pleaded guilty July 20 in connection with a conspiracy to falsify data in trials evaluating treatments for medical conditions including opioid dependency, irritable bowel syndrome and diabetic nephropathy. Read More
In this multipart special report, BioWorld explores the concept of extending lifespan, which is surprisingly well-validated by basic research. The team examined the latest science, the key biological drivers that can be targeted pharmacologically and the companies developing these potential “Fountain of Youth” candidate drugs. Read More
In Extending the human lifespan, a BioWorld special report, the team examined the latest science, the key biological drivers that can be targeted pharmacologically and the companies developing potential “Fountain of Youth” candidate drugs. In this episode of the BioWorld Insider Podcast, the team discussed the report’s highlights and key takeaways.
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Awakn, Daiichi Sankyo, F-star, Gilead, Bluebird, Manhattan, Pharmacyte, Portage, Propanc, Regulus, Sanofi, Seagen, Starpharma, Takeda, Teva, Tris. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Ascentage, Belite, Celcuity, Daewoong, Eiger, Genmab, Karyopharm, Novavax, Oncopeptides, Peptilogics, Poolbeg, PTC, Qu, Rheos, Rhythm, Samsung, Soleno, Sorrento, Vivus, Wugen. Read More
