Astellas' gene therapy free from FDA hold

Today's Big News

Jan 20, 2023

Eli Lilly shut out of Alzheimer's fast lane with FDA rejection for donanemab


Cyteir lays off 70% of workforce after further narrowing cancer drug goals


Astellas, after years of gene therapy woes, gets rare boost with FDA lifting of Pompe clinical hold


A CAR-T cell gel kills residual cancer cells leftover from surgery 


Eyeing untapped niche, EpicentRx makes case for cancer toxicity prevention drug


Disc spins faster by paying Mabwell $10M for clinic-ready blood disorder candidate


Fierce Biotech Layoff Tracker 2023: Cyteir drops 70% of staff; ReNeuron loses 40% and more


Chutes & Ladders—David Kessler resigns from the Biden admin, marking the unofficial end of Operation Warp Speed

 

Featured

Eli Lilly shut out of Alzheimer's fast lane with FDA rejection for donanemab

Eli Lilly’s bid for an accelerated approval of Alzheimer’s disease drug donanemab has been shut down by the FDA.
 

Top Stories

Cyteir lays off 70% of workforce after further narrowing cancer drug goals

Back in the summer, Cyteir Therapeutics announced that it was pressing pause on plans to get one of its cancer meds into the clinic. But it’s only now that we’re seeing the fallout of the decision to focus on its lead ovarian cancer asset—in the form of laying off 70% of its workforce.

Astellas, after years of gene therapy woes, gets rare boost with FDA lifting of Pompe clinical hold

The FDA has handed a boost to Astellas Pharma’s stuttering push into gene therapy by lifting the clinical hold on a phase 1/2 study in late-onset Pompe disease. Astellas was forced to pump the brakes on the AT845 program last year after a participant developed peripheral sensory neuropathy.

Using real RWD to better understand and engage neuro patients

Traditional real-world data isn’t truly from the real world – it’s from the clinical world, and it’s missing a big part of neuro patients’ stories.

A CAR-T cell gel kills residual cancer cells leftover from surgery

Surgically removing a tumor can cure a patient, but if there are any cancerous cells left around the edges, it’s likely to return. Applying a gel containing CAR-T cells to the surgical wound could clear out residual cancer and prevent recurrence, a new mouse study found.

Eyeing untapped niche, EpicentRx makes case for cancer toxicity prevention drug

Physicians lack a FDA-approved way to limit oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients. EpicentRx wants to change that—and has shared a closer look at the phase 2 data that persuaded it to take the program deeper into the clinic.

Disc spins faster by paying Mabwell $10M for clinic-ready blood disorder candidate

Less than a month after finally going public, Disc Medicine has come a step closer to getting a third blood disorder candidate into the clinic via a licensing deal with Mabwell worth $10 million upfront.

Fierce Biotech Layoff Tracker 2023: Cyteir drops 70% of staff; ReNeuron loses 40% and more

We had hoped that our Layoff Tracker would stay retired for a while, but 2023 is starting to look a lot like our old friend 2022 when it comes to layoffs in biotech.

Caris Life Sciences picks up $400M after launching 22,000-gene cancer blood test

After blowing past the $1 billion mark in its lifetime funding tally with back-to-back chart-topping funding rounds in 2020 and 2021, Caris Life Sciences took a breather in 2022—but break time is over for the liquid biopsy maker.

Seagen's targeted cancer med Tukysa picks up accelerated FDA nod in colorectal cancer

After welcoming a new CEO and entertaining a potential buyout last year, West Coast cancer specialist Seagen is again adding to its trophy case of regulatory wins. The FDA granted accelerated approval to Tukysa as a second-line treatment for a specific type of colorectal cancer.

Chutes & Ladders—David Kessler resigns from the Biden admin, marking the unofficial end of Operation Warp Speed

David Kessler, M.D., is resigning as chief scientific officer of the Biden administration’s COVID response, marking the end of Operation Warp Speed, the famed federal effort to develop and administer COVID vaccines.

'The Top Line': Panelists at Fierce's JPM Week event talk drug pricing policy, and Bayer's oncology head discusses cancer strategy

This week on "The Top Line," we take you inside Fierce's JPM Week event. Listen in on snippets from a lively panel discussion on how companies will navigate the drug pricing policies the Biden administration rolled out just last year. And hear from Christine Roth, head of Bayer's oncology strategic business unit, about the company's plans to become a strong competitor in cancer.

Fierce Pharma Asia—China's reimbursement round; Sun's alopecia bet; GenScript's CDMO raise

China has updated its state-covered drugs list after a round of steep price cuts. Sun Pharma has shelled out $576 million to acquire an alopecia drug developer. CDMO giant GenScript has raised $224 million for its biologics subsidiary. And more.
 
Fierce podcasts

Don't miss an episode

'The Top Line': Panelists at Fierce's JPM Week event talk drug pricing policy, and Bayer's oncology head discusses cancer strategy

This week on "The Top Line," we take you inside Fierce's JPM Week event. Listen in on snippets from a lively panel discussion on how companies will navigate the drug pricing policies the Biden administration rolled out just last year. And hear from Christine Roth, head of Bayer's oncology strategic business unit, about the company's plans to become a strong competitor in cancer.
 

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