Biohaven flunks Alzheimer's phase 2/3, touts failed subgroup as sign of efficacy Gilead's Kite Pharma unit nabs Marincola to head up its cell therapy research Lilly gives $60M to Merus, ties in $1.6B in biobucks for next-gen cancer research pact Ex-Gilead execs bag $80M to trial drug licensed from Merck KGaA Gritstone adds COVID-19 to the pipeline with NIAID-supported vaccine Unleashing the cancer-fighting gene TP53 in leukemia with a novel combination treatment Cambridge Univ. researchers develop DNA test for COVID-19's secondary, hospital-acquired infections The top 10 largest biopharma M&A deals in 2020 Featured Story | By Nick Paul Taylor A phase 2/3 clinical trial of Biohaven Pharmaceutical’s troriluzole in Alzheimer’s disease has missed its co-primary endpoints. Biohaven, which slipped the news out on a federal holiday, is yet to quit on the program, though, pointing to a “nonsignificant numerical difference of a potential benefit” in a 97-subject subgroup to argue troriluzole may have a future in the indication. read more |
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| Thank you to Catalent for sponsoring this year's JPM 2021 coverage. |
Top Stories By Ben Adams AbbVie and National Institutes of Health veteran Francesco Marincola, M.D., will become Gilead’s new head of cell therapy research out of its Kite unit. read more By Ben Adams Eli Lilly, via its Loxo Oncology biotech unit, is signing up to a three-therapy deal with Merus focused on T-cell redirecting bispecific antibody work. read more By Nick Paul Taylor Vera Therapeutics has raised $80 million to take a drug licensed from Merck KGaA into a phase 2b kidney disease clinical trial. The drug, atacicept, has failed multiple autoimmune clinical trials, but the leadership at Vera, which is heavy on former Gilead staffers, thinks it has a future in IgA nephropathy. read more By Amirah Al Idrus Gritstone Oncology, the biotech working on cancer vaccines based on traditional infectious disease immunology, is bringing that approach back to its roots. It’s working on a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, that could also work against other viruses in this family in the case of a future pandemic. read more By Arlene Weintraub Drugs that target the cancer-promoting proteins MDM2 and BET have been tried in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) but haven’t been all that effective on their own. In a new study, combining the two approaches extended survival in mouse models of AML by activating the cancer-fighting protein p53 from two different angles. read more By Conor Hale Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a DNA test to help spot dangerous secondary infections that may develop during COVID-19 treatment—such as cases of pneumonia associated with ventilator equipment provided during intensive care. read more By Angus Liu Biopharma M&A activities suffered a slowdown in 2020. One could argue that 2019’s megadeals consumed some of last year’s quota, and COVID-19 definitely didn’t help. But AstraZeneca’s $39 billion deal for Alexion and Gilead’s $21 billion acquisition of Immunomedics showed the appetite for deal-making is still there. read more Resources Sponsored by: Cytiva It’s an exciting time to pioneer what could be a life-changing medicine. Clear the path to the clinic with pro tips and expert insights from industry leaders. Sponsored By: Polpharma Biologics Innovative cell lines and early process development are critical to generate a high producing cell lines alongside a USP strategy to meet high quality standards. 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