Visterra Inc., a subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., reported positive top-line data from the ongoing Visionary phase III study of sibeprenlimab, an anti-APRIL monoclonal antibody for immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). Read More
Astellas Pharma Inc. has withdrawn its marketing authorization application from the EMA for its avacincaptad pegol intravitreal solution for the treatment of geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration. “The company's decision to withdraw its application followed interactions” with the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, an Astellas spokesperson told BioWorld. Read More
Cellbion Co. Ltd. debuted on the tech-heavy Kosdaq board of the Korea Exchange Oct. 16, with share prices closing upward at ₩20,650 (US$14.94) – outdoing its initial price of ₩15,000 per share for 1.9 million shares. Read More
Regenerative medicine company Orthocell Ltd. raised AU$17 million (US$11.28 million) to launch its nerve repair product, Remplir, in the $1.6 billion U.S. market. Read More
Hope Medicine Inc. reported positive interim results for monoclonal antibody HMI-115 in a phase II endometriosis trial that saw the mean non-menstrual pelvic pain score reduced by 50%. “HMI-115 is a prolactin receptor blocker, and we're using it to treat endometriosis and some other diseases. It is a first-in-class new mechanism to treat endometriosis,” Hope Medicine CEO Nathan Chen told BioWorld. Read More
Scientists from different laboratories around the world have presented the latest advances in research into malignant brain tumors at the 31st Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), which is being held Oct. 22 to 25 in Rome. Read More
Biopharma deals and M&A activity in 2024 continued to surge past the last two years, with deal value in the first three quarters jumping 14.5% year-over-year. The total climbed from $130.38 billion through 3Q23 to an impressive $149.24 billion so far in 2024, the highest value in the first nine months of a year, according to BioWorld’s records. Q3 alone saw $49.81 billion in deals, following a strong Q2 at $55.26 billion. Meanwhile, M&As skyrocketed 75.5% in 2024, hitting $98.02 billion, up from $55.82 billion during the first nine months of last year. Read More
In September 2024, BioWorld recorded 252 clinical trial updates, up from 92 in August, due in part to news from the European Society for Cardiology Congress, the IASCLC World Conference on Lung Cancer and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, among others. The month included 35 successful phase III trial updates and four failures. Read More
Currently, cancer therapy trial-and-error methodology is inefficient and unsustainable. Oncology is the worst therapeutic area for drug trial success; only 3.4% of drugs that enter phase I end up being FDA approved, and 57% fail due to poor drug efficacy in trials. Building tools that may aid in predicting an individual’s response to a specific therapy may help in reducing costs, guesswork, and importantly improve the outcome of patients and accelerate new drug development. Read More
Researchers at Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Hansoh Biomedical Co. Ltd. have disclosed crystalline salts of known tyrosine-protein kinase ABL1 (ABL) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of leukemia. Read More
In the newest BioWorld Insider podcast, Victoria Lipinska, the America's lead for Quantum Innovation Centers at IBM Quantum, talks about the future of drug development using quantum computing. “The new technology is a completely different branch of computing as opposed to what we know right now, and it's meant to complement what we know, not to really replace it,” she said. Read More
Clinical updates from Asia, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Forsee, J Ints Bio, Minghui, Zai Lab, Hope Medicines, Everest Medicines, Otsuka, Simcere. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations in Asia-Pacific: Accord Healthcate, Everest, Modalis, SK Bioscience, Telix. Read More
