NS Pharma's Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug Viltepso flunks Phase 3...
NS Pharma’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug Viltepso failed its confirmatory study. Despite the failure, the company is keeping faith in the drug and running further analyses to see if other factors...
View ArticleTakeda to lay off 640 workers in Massachusetts as part of multiyear overhaul
Takeda’s multiyear “efficiency program” is in full swing. The Japanese pharma is set to let go a total of 641 workers in Massachusetts: 495 in Cambridge and the remaining 146 in Lexington, a...
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NewAmsterdam says former Amgen cardio drug reduces heart disease risk factor
A Dutch biotech has proved its resurrected Amgen drug is capable of significantly lowering “bad” cholesterol in a handful of mid-stage trials in recent years, and a new analysis suggests the therapy...
View ArticleJ&J makes another I&I acquisition with $1.25B deal for Numab's Yellow Jersey
Johnson & Johnson is spending $1.25 billion in cash to buy Yellow Jersey Therapeutics, marking its second acquisition in the burgeoning I&I field in as many weeks. J&J’s deal to buy Yellow...
View ArticleAgios sells rights to glioma drug to Royalty Pharma; Cargo’s $110M placement
Plus, news about Turn Biotechnologies, HanAll Biopharma, Corcept Therapeutics, Actuate and Merck: Agios sells vorasidenib rights to Royalty Pharma: As part of the agreement, the biotech will get a $905...
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Insmed stock skyrockets on Phase 3 lung disease data
Shares of Insmed $INSM more than doubled Tuesday morning after the company released Phase 3 data in a respiratory disease called bronchiectasis. The company’s drug, known as brensocatib, reduced...
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FDA clears IND for Be Bio's engineered B cell therapy in hemophilia B
In a first, the FDA cleared a B cell therapy for clinical testing in hemophilia B in the latest step forward for a new approach to treating genetic disorders. Be Bio expects to begin dosing its...
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Joe Panetta to step down as Biocom California CEO
Joe Panetta, who has led the trade group Biocom California for 25 years, is slated to step down as president and CEO at the end of the year, according to the organization. Tim Scott Panetta will be...
View ArticleLouisiana governor signs law limiting ability of doctors to prescribe...
Louisiana became the first state to enact a law that classifies the abortion-inducing drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as schedule IV drugs, meaning they are considered potentially dangerous and...
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Canadian biotech VC Amplitude raises $192M second fund
Amplitude Ventures, a Montreal-based life sciences VC firm, has raised a second fund to deploy into 14 to 16 startups. Dion Madsen The $263 million CAD ($192 million) precision medicine fund has...
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GLP-1 prescriptions reach all-time high as Lilly and Novo scramble to keep...
More US patients than ever are being prescribed GLP-1 weight loss medications each week, and biopharma experts have increased their annual sales forecasts of the drugs to more than $150 billion by...
View ArticleNIH officials used personal emails, tweaked words to skirt FOIA searches...
The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is pressing the NIH over its practices handling public records requests after an investigation gathered emails that appear to show potential...
View ArticleFDA details new 'platform technology' process that could accelerate cell and...
The FDA on Tuesday released a long-awaited draft guidance explaining how companies can win designations for platform technologies, a regulatory step that could speed up cell or gene therapy approvals...
View ArticleNIH-funded trials often miss diversity targets, small study shows
Despite increased urgency to diversify clinical trials, a majority of NIH-funded trials that had completed enrollment in a recent study missed their diversity targets. HHS’ Office of Inspector General...
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AstraZeneca reveals early data for oral PCSK9, touts PK edge over Merck’s drug
AstraZeneca has unveiled the early efficacy profile of its oral PCSK9 inhibitor in patients with high levels of “bad” cholesterol. One arm of the Phase 1 trial studied a dose of the drug, dubbed...
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Merck returns to lucrative eye disease market in up to $3B deal for EyeBio
A decade after departing the ophthalmology drug market, Merck is launching a return to the field in a $1.3 billion upfront cash acquisition for Series A-stage EyeBio. Merck could dish out another $1.7...
View ArticleArcturus teases data from small trial of inhalable cystic fibrosis mRNA...
Arcturus Therapeutics has offered an early snapshot of its inhaled mRNA therapy’s effects in cystic fibrosis, building its case for a delivery technology designed to transport mRNA to the lung. The...
View ArticleIkena Oncology drops cancer asset, trims headcount to save cash
Ikena Oncology has hit another speed bump as it ends work on a Phase 1 oncology candidate and plans to slash its workforce by more than half. It’s the Boston biotech’s second round of pipeline and...
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Bristol Myers pays $80M to license another Prothena neuroscience candidate
Bristol Myers Squibb is shelling out $80 million to Prothena Biosciences for an exclusive global license for an early-stage neurodegenerative candidate, as the pharma giant continues to invest in its...
View ArticleNew York startup raises $33M for stem cell-derived treatment to improve IVF
Women hoping to conceive through in vitro fertilization often undergo two weeks of grueling hormone injections to mature and collect eggs. A New York startup called Gameto hopes to dramatically reduce...
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