For the second time in three months, Mersana Therapeutics is dealing with an FDA clinical hold. The partial hold on tests of its experimental ovarian cancer drug follows a full hold placed on an early-stage test of a different Mersana therapy in various types of solid tumors.
In a confirmatory Phase 3 test of ImmunoGen’s Elahere, the ovarian cancer drug handily beat chemotherapy with results that clinicians say could make the treatment the new standard of care for certain patients. The data were presented during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
Eli Lilly’s stalled cancer drug prexasertib has another chance under Acrivon Therapeutics, whose IPO will fund a fresh slate of mid-stage clinical trials. While attention is focused on the former Lilly asset, also at stake is Acrivon’s technology platform that relies on proteomics rather than genomics for identifying patients appropriate for targeted therapies.
Roche’s deep oncology pipeline is adding a drug candidate from Repare Therapeutics that works by interfering with a DNA repair mechanism of cancer cells. Repare receives $125 million up front and it retains the right to share in the development and commercialization of the drug, camonsertib.
Biotech startup Pheast Therapeutics is out of stealth taking a tack similar to that of cancer immunotherapy company Forty Seven, also a spinout from the Stanford University lab of Irving Weissman. While both companies get immune cells to eat tumors, Pheast’s technology has the potential to take the approach to a broader range of cancer types including those that have historically resisted immunotherapy.
The field of biotechs pursuing new interleukin-2 cancer immunotherapies is filled with companies engineering different versions of that signaling protein. Avenge Bio CEO Mike Heffernan said his startup stands apart with a cell therapy that produces human IL-2 that could offer advantages compared to engineered versions of that protein.
The progress in artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping patient care, across various dimensions, from facilitating faster discharge to curating treatment plans and suggesting lifestyle changes.
Latest round of venture capital funding brings total amount raised to $175 million since 2003.
AiVita is developing an immunotherapy for solid tumors, which may soon enter phase II clinical trials for ovarian cancer.
New York-based biotech company, Cynvec, is currently raising capital to aid in the development of a vaccine designed to treat ovarian cancer.
Without a biopsy, it’s difficult to determine whether a woman has breast cancer. But biopsies are costly and invasive – and often, in women with fibrous breast tissue and no cancer – they’re actually unnecessary. Scottsdale startup Provista Diagnostics is developing a way to help diagnose women’s cancers more accurately – with just the use of […]
As technology advances, AI-powered tools will increasingly reduce the administrative burdens on healthcare providers.
In honor of National Women’s Health Week, we are highlighting startups focused on women’s health. These companies and these new devices help women stay healthy without draining their wallets. To find more about women’s health and National Women’s Health Week, check out #NWHW and #maternalhealth on Twitter, in addition to the following stories. nVision Medical […]
As a teenager, Surbhi Sarna, nVision Medical CEO and founder, had complex, repeat ovarian cysts. They were painful and worrisome. They couldn’t be biopsied for fear of spreading cancer, and she said the rest of the diagnostics were so poor she and her doctors basically were left to watch and see if they grew. Now, […]
Analysts say there’s a multibillion-dollar market up for the taking for companies who figure out how to turn on the immune system to fight tumor cells and delay the progression of cancer. Canadian company Immunovaccine wants a piece of that market and today said it’s reached an important milestone in getting there. Immunovaccine just raised […]
Traditional approaches to cancer are quite limited in treating late-stage and aggressive cancers. Aduro BioTech, Inc., a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, is using the immune system to fight cancer and provide more options for patients. The immune system defends against the growth and spread of tumors. Cancer develops as a result of multiple changes in the […]
Obviously not everyone in Texas is opposed to the Affordable Care Act and more people getting health insurance. It’s nice to see specific examples of Texans working to help their uninsured neighbors and co-workers understand healthcare reform. Two groups are getting the word out to patients through weekly videos and online resources, including a Google […]