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Kronos Bio and Gilead Sciences Enter In to Asset Purchase Agreement for Gilead’s SYK Inhibitor Portfolio
“Despite recent advancements in AML, there remains a substantial need for targeted therapies that can extend life,” said John Byrd, M.D., D. Warren Brown Chair of Leukemia Research, and Distinguished University Professor of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and Chief Medical Officer of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Beat AML Trial. “SYK inhibition has demonstrated promising activity in clinical trials of AML patients who have high HOXA9/MEIS1 expression and is an optimal target for further clinical research to understand how HOXA9/MEIS1 dysregulation drives AML in these patients. The Beat AML Trial directed by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has partnered closely with Gilead and looks forward to continued close collaboration with Kronos Bio.”
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Novocure and MSD collaborate to develop TTFs + KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) for treatment of NSCLC
“We are very pleased to collaborate with MSD, a global leader in oncology, in this important combination study as we strive to extend survival in some of the most aggressive forms of cancer through the development and commercialization of Tumor Treating Fields,” said William Doyle, Novocure’s Executive Chairman. “Multiple preclinical studies suggest that the use of Tumor Treating Fields together with anti-PD-1 therapy can potentially augment the immune response resulting in improved tumor control. We look forward to generating clinical data demonstrating the effect of Tumor Treating Fields concurrent with KEYTRUDA in first-line NSCLC.”
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Blueprint Medicines Announces Global Collaboration with Roche to Develop and Commercialize Pralsetinib for Patients with RET-Altered Cancers
"With Roche's global reach and unparalleled expertise in personalized healthcare, this collaboration will accelerate our ability to bring pralsetinib to patients with significant medical needs around the world and expand development of pralsetinib across multiple treatment settings where there is potential to benefit even broader patient populations," said Jeff Albers, Chief Executive Officer of Blueprint Medicines. "In addition, the collaboration is transformative for Blueprint Medicines and our efforts to build the leading precision medicine company, as it enables us to continue to build best-in-class commercial capabilities, further invest in our rapidly growing pipeline including our systemic mastocytosis programs and fortify our strong financial position to bridge the company to a self-sustaining future."
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GSK forges a $293 million deal with CureVac to collaborate over new mRNA vaccines and antibodies
On 20th July 2020, CureVac (Tubingen, Germany) announced a strategic partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK, global HQ: Brentford, London) to co-develop CureVac’s self-amplifying mRNA vaccine platform and monoclonal antibody research programs against infectious diseases. GSK has purchased a 10% equity stake in CureVac with a payment of $163 million and has invested $130 million in cash towards research and development. GSK has further reserved manufacturing capacity at CureVac with an additional $32 million payment. Earlier in the year, CureVac received $337 million of German federal money, surrendering 23% equity stake to the Government of Germany.
Under the terms of the deal, CureVac is eligible to tiered royalties on sales, regulatory milestone payments ($349.75 million) and commercial milestone payments ($415.4 million). In return, CureVac is responsible for preclinical to Phase I clinical development of these projects, after which GSK takes over in terms of development and commercialization of lead molecules.
CureVac has developed a proprietary platform that can return an mRNA sequence of 5’ and 3’ untranslated regions (UTRs) sandwiching an open reading frame (ORF) optimized for production of therapeutic proteins (antigens or antibodies) upon targeted delivery. The pipeline spans prophylactic vaccines, cancer immunotherapy and protein-based therapy for metabolic diseases.
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Imvax raises $112 million in series C funding for its novel neoantigen-based therapeutic intervention in glioblastoma multiforme
Imvax Inc. (Imvax, Philadelphia) owns a proprietary therapeutic cocktail that delivers autologous tumor neoantigens and a generic anti-immunosuppressive antisense oligonucleotide through bio-diffusion chambers. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients receive the cocktail immediately after resection surgeries as opposed to standard-of-care chemotherapy that begins only 6 days after resection. This enables Imvax’s platform to make use of a penetrated blood-brain barrier for effective delivery of the neoantigens to elicit a robust immune response. The new intervention has performed well in Phase Ib clinical trials showing a 7-month improvement in median overall survival and an exceptional progression free survival of up to 30 months in a subset of patients. No side effects or cytokine storm issues were noted.
These results have led Imvax to raise $112 million in series C funding to support pivotal trials of its therapeutic cocktail, IGV-001, as announced on 16th July 2020. The round was led by HP WILD Holding AG, Ziff Capital Partners, Magnetar Capital, TLP Investment Partners and Invus. Apart from Phase III trials the money will be used to further the platform into solid tumors by 2021.
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