Frank Vinluan is senior biopharma reporter for MedCity News. He previously held business reporting positions at Xconomy, The Seattle Times, The Des Moines Register, and the Triangle Business Journal.
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Twitter: @frankvinluan
Vor Bio is licensing global rights a fusion protein that inhibits two targets to potentially treat the neuromuscular disorder generalized myasthenia gravis. It’s a pivot for Vor, which last month ceased its cancer R&D and announced it would explore strategic alternatives.
Novavax’s partnership with Sanofi allows the pharma giant to explore potential combinations of assets from both companies, and it’s a blueprint for the kinds of alliances the vaccine developer is pursuing. Rather than commercializing vaccines, Novavax aims to turn its research into business development deals, R&D executive Ruxandra Draghia-Akli said.
Medical billing is a tedious administrative task, but outsourcing it may be the key to increased revenue. Explore the top medical billing outsourcing companies and the benefits of partnering with one.
Nektar Therapeutics’ biologic drug rezpegaldesleukin take a new approach to atopic dermatitis, or eczema, stimulating proliferation of immune cells that tamp down excessive immune responses. The drug met the goals of a Phase 2b study, but analysts note that cross-trial measures show those results are short of the marks achieved by Dupixent, the top biologic for atopic dermatitis.
In Phase 1/2 results for 12 patients at least one year after receiving the cell therapy, zimislecel, Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported all participants achieved blood glucose in the target range and 10 of the 12 were free of exogenous insulin as of the data cutoff. Vertex expects to complete enrollment in the pivotal portion of the study this summer, paving the way for potential regulatory submissions next year.
Caris Life Sciences applies AI and machine learning to patient samples to detect cancer and as a companion diagnostic guiding the use of targeted cancer therapies. As a commercial-stage company, Caris’s upsized public markets debut is an outlier amid the continuing IPO freeze for clinical-stage biotechs developing new drugs.
Draig Therapeutics’ lead drug is designed to safely target the AMPA receptor as a way of mediating the interplay between two neurotransmitters whose imbalance is associated with mood disorders. The startup is one of several that have recently raised mega rounds of financing to support programs in the clinic or entering clinical testing.
Your varicose or spider veins may indicate an underlying problem, so finding the right vein specialist is crucial. Discover the best vein clinics in Orlando.
Gilead Sciences drug lenacapavir, brand name Yeztugo, is now approved for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. The twice injectable medication is hoped to improve uptake and adherence to PrEP.
To be eligible for the FDA’s new Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program, a drug must meet certain national health interests. Qualifying medicines could be reviewed in one to two months, down from the standard 10 months to a year.
Like the first death reported in March, Sarepta Therapeutics attributed the fatality to a case of acute liver failure following dosing of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy, Elevidys. The company has proposed an immunosuppressive regimen to mitigate the liver injury risk posed by the therapy.
Bristol Myers Squibb’s new multibillion-dollar partnership in a hot area of cancer research overshadowed many of the announcements at the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. We covered that news and other developments from the largest cancer conference in the world.
The home care industry is booming. As Baby Boomers age and more families seek in-home solutions for loved ones, demand for home care services is at an all-time high.
AstraZeneca’s R&D collaboration with CSPC Pharmaceutical Group includes an oral small molecule for immunological diseases, which would offer a dosing edge over currently available injectable medications. The agreement follows a 2024 licensing agreement that granted AstraZeneca rights to an oral CSPC drug candidate in development for a metabolic disorder.
BioNTech is acquiring CureVac in a deal that brings messenger RNA manufacturing capability and cancer immunotherapy candidates. Analysts say the M&A deal is a way to essentially settle out of court the ongoing mRNA patent dispute between the companies following some recent CureVac legal wins.
Bristol Myers Squibb is licensing global rights to a Philochem program in development for both diagnostic imaging and targeted treatment of prostate cancer. It follows the pharma giant’s entry into radiopharmaceuticals via the $4.1 billion acquisition of RayzeBio last year.
Antares Therapeutics spun off of Scorpion Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech that Eli Lilly acquired earlier this year. Like Scorpion, Antares is developing small molecules that go after undruggable targets in cancer.
FDA approval of Merck’s RSV antibody drug, Enflonsia, makes it a direct competitor to Sanofi’s Beyfortus. The new Merck product is expected to be discussed by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; ACIP will have an entirely new roster at its next meeting after all 17 sitting members were dismissed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.