Biotech: Page 24


  • A photo of a sign inside an Apellis Pharmaceuticals building
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    Courtesy of Apellis Pharmaceuticals
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    Apellis plans FDA filing after drug success in kidney trial

    Analysts at Evercore ISI called pegcetacoplan’s data in two kidney conditions a “left-field hit” that compare favorably to results for a Novartis treatment.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • Aug. 8, 2024
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    Amgen talks obesity drug ‘differentiation’; Servier brain cancer drug approved by FDA

    Executives at Amgen had few updates on their drug MariTide, but defended what they see as the once-monthly shot’s competitive profile.

    By BioPharma Dive staff • Aug. 7, 2024
  • Explore the Trendline
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Emerging biotech

    New biotechs continue to emerge despite a challenging market environment that has forced venture firms to build their drug startups more cautiously.

    By BioPharma Dive staff
  • A photo of a Madrigal Pharmaceuticals' MASH drug Rezdiffra.
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    Courtesy of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals
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    Madrigal’s MASH drug launch gets off to a fast start

    U.S. sales of the medicine, Rezdiffra, were more than triple analysts’ expectations, encouraging Madrigal to market it in Europe without a partner.

    By Aug. 7, 2024
  • A Roche logo is seen on the side of a building.
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    Courtesy of Roche
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    Roche licenses Sangamo’s technology for another shot at Alzheimer’s drugs

    Through a new deal, Roche has exclusive rights to Sangamo molecules designed to repress the gene that makes “tau,” a protein many scientists view as a main driver of Alzheimer’s.

    By Aug. 6, 2024
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    Biotech entrepreneur Arie Belldegrun launches new ‘science-first’ credit firm

    Symbiotic Capital, which has $600 million in committed capital, aims to make credit a more accessible tool for life sciences companies.

    By Aug. 6, 2024
  • Workers gather inside BioMarin’s gene therapy manufacturing plant in Novato, California.
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    Courtesy of BioMarin Pharmaceutical
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    BioMarin pares Roctavian spending as it narrows sales focus

    The company plans to limit sales of the hemophilia gene therapy to the U.S., Italy and Germany, while ending most clinical development work.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • Aug. 6, 2024
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    Permission granted by Red Queen Therapeutics
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    Biotech Red Queen launches with $55M to build versatile antivirals

    The funding from Apple Tree Partners will help the startup advance an antiviral drug pipeline that includes a COVID treatment nearing mid-stage testing.

    By Aug. 6, 2024
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    Courtesy of 23andMe
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    23andMe board rejects CEO Wojcicki’s take-private proposal

    A special committee of the board said the proposal offers no premium to 23andMe’s stock price and, with a lack of committed financing, is “insufficient.”

    By Elise Reuter • Aug. 2, 2024
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    Vir retreats from infectious disease; Vertex shelves AATD drugs

    The one-time drug developer is pivoting to cancer research. Elsewhere, Neurocrine reported a strong quarter and venBio raised half a billion dollars for biotech investing.

    By BioPharma Dive staff • Aug. 2, 2024
  • Employees of biotechnology company UniQure work in a laboratory.
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    Courtesy of UniQure
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    UniQure restructuring to claim 300 jobs

    The job cuts affect 65% of UniQure’s workforce and include the gene therapy developer’s recent sale of a manufacturing plant to Genezen.

    By Aug. 1, 2024
  • Two test tubes pour different-colored liquids into a beaker in an illustration representative of biopharma mergers.
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    Elizabeth Regan/BioPharma Dive
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    Otsuka buys startup Jnana, adding to uptick in private biotech M&A

    The $800 million deal hands Otsuka a drug that’s shown promise in early testing in phenylketonuria, and is the fourth buyout of a privately held biotech in the last two weeks alone.

    By Kristin Jensen • Aug. 1, 2024
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    Vertex’s pain drug gets speedy FDA review; Keytruda hits a sales milestone

    Quarterly sales of Merck’s immunotherapy crested $7 billion for the first time. Elsewhere, Fibrogen is laying off staff and Intellia has a green light to start a new gene editing trial in the U.K.

    By BioPharma Dive staff • July 31, 2024
  • A headshot of Kris Elverum, CEO of AIRNA.
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    Permission granted by AIRNA
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    Biotech startup Airna raises $60M for RNA editing medicines

    Launched last September, the company is working on a treatment for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, which it said could enter the clinic in 2025.

    By July 31, 2024
  • A researcher, wearing a navy blue lab coat with the Incyte logo above a breast pocket, works in a research lab.
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    Incyte trims cancer drug pipeline in R&D refocus

    The company will stop developing five experimental treatments, including two oral checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-L1.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • July 30, 2024
  • Ayman AlAbdallah header
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    Permission granted by Mubadala Capital
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    Q&A

    How a Mubadala partner views investing in biotech’s new normal

    Ayman AlAbdallah discusses some of the inroads the sector has made toward a recovery and the characteristics he looks for in a startup.

    By Meagan Parrish • July 29, 2024
  • A photo of GSK employees at a research laboratory.
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    Courtesy of GSK
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    GSK leans on Flagship for help finding new drugs, vaccines

    The deal resembles recent Flagship alliances with Pfizer and Novo Nordisk, allowing the British pharma to comb through the company creator’s portfolio to unearth up to 10 therapies.

    By July 29, 2024
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    Ventyx’s TYK2 drug suffers second setback

    The company claimed “higher than anticipated” scores from trial volunteers on placebo led to the disappointing data, prompting it to halt internal trials.

    By July 29, 2024
  • A stethoscope rests on top of an EKG printout. A cool blue cast dominates the scene.
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    NewAmsterdam heart drug hits trial goal, but data appear to disappoint investors

    The study is the latest test of a class of cholesterol medicines known as CETP inhibitors, which were abandoned by several large drugmakers last decade.

    By July 29, 2024
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    Two biotechs cut staff; AbbVie weathers biosimilar threat

    Glycomimetics and Cue Biopharma both revealed layoffs. Elsewhere, AbbVie’s earnings impressed Wall Street and an FDA panel recommended changing testing requirements for some lung cancer drugs.

    By BioPharma Dive staff • July 26, 2024
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    Elizabeth Regan/BioPharma Dive
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    Viking shares jump on plans to speed obesity drug into late-stage testing

    The drug’s advancement continued what one analyst described as a “torrid” pace for Viking’s closely watched medicine, which started human testing in 2022 and could reach a Phase 3 trial next year.  

    By Kristin Jensen • July 25, 2024
  • A photo of a Biogen building
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    Permission granted by Biogen
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    Biogen, Sage tremor drug fails key trial

    Known as SAGE-324, the drug was one of the key assets Biogen gained rights to through a billion-dollar research deal inked back in 2020.

    By July 24, 2024
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    Novartis invests in bispecifics for cancer; Bob Langer steps down from Moderna board

    The Swiss pharma is paying Dren Bio $150 million to partner on “targeted myeloid engagers.” Elsewhere, Geron is losing its commercial chief and Biovectra will sell to Agilent for $925 million.

    By BioPharma Dive staff • July 24, 2024
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    Autobahn raises $100M on investor interest in neuropsych drugs

    Autobahn’s lead candidate is designed to stimulate thyroid hormone receptors as a way to complement existing antidepressants.

    By July 24, 2024
  • An illustration of T cells attacking a cancer cell
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    Peddalanka Ramesh Babu via Getty Images
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    Startup led by former J&J executives raises $165M for cancer, immune disease drugs

    Peter Lebowitz, who for years led J&J’s oncology R&D, is the CEO of the startup, called Third Arc Bio and launched by Omega Funds in 2022.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • July 23, 2024
  • A Bluebird bio employee works at a laboratory.
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    Permission granted by Bluebird bio
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    US government declines to clear Bluebird fertility support for Zynteglo patients

    The Health and Human Services' inspector general issued a "negative opinion" on Bluebird's request one week after Vertex sued the federal government over access to fertility preservation services.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • July 22, 2024