Flare Therapeutics Inc. will receive $70 million in cash up front from Roche Holding AG, and the deal could ultimately bring the company about $1.8 billion plus royalties. Flare will search for small molecules that can be used to treat undruggable transcription factors to treat cancer. Also, Novartis AG will pay computational-chemistry expert Schrödinger Inc. $150 million up front and as much as $2.3 billion in milestones to develop several candidates along with up to $892 million in R&D and milestone payments. Read More
More than two years since emerging from stealth, Vesalius Therapeutics Inc. signed its first major pharma deal with GSK plc. Worth up to $650 million and possibly more if an option is exercised, the multitarget alliance aims to discover and develop novel treatments for Parkinson’s disease and another neurodegenerative indication. Read More
Abbisko Therapeutics Co. Ltd.’s colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibitor, pimicotinib, met both primary and secondary endpoints in the phase III Maneuver global study evaluating pimicotinib for treatment of tenosynovial giant cell tumor. Read More
The competitive menin-inhibitor space chalked further data from Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc., which disclosed positive top-line results from the pivotal phase II portion of the Augment-101 study, designed to test oral small-molecule revumenib for safety and efficacy. But shares of the firm (NASDAQ:SNDX) closed Nov. 12 at $16.21, down $5.57, or 26%, after the Augment-101 numbers were disclosed. Read More
Alentis Therapeutics SA is poised to expand its reach in Claudin-1 biology, after closing a $181.4 million series D that will fund phase I/II trials of two antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting the transmembrane protein, which is overexpressed on a number of squamous cell tumors. Read More
Cancer therapies can eliminate specific tumors based on their genetic content. However, some cancer cells survive. How do they do it? Part of the answer lies in extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA), an ace up the tumors’ sleeve to adapt and evade attack. Three simultaneous studies in the journal Nature lay all the cards on the table, revealing ecDNAs’ content, their origin, their inheritance, their influence in cancer, and a way to combat them. Read More
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Alfresa, Alk-Abello, Ardelyx, ARS, Biocytogen, Hepion, Ideaya, Pediatrix, Pharma Two B. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Argenx, Autolus, Neurizon, Novavax, Rapt, Recce, Resq, Zai Lab. Read More
